


Signal in the Storm

by Miyotesse



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Dreams and Nightmares, F/F, Yuri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-09-09 06:58:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 62,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8880343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miyotesse/pseuds/Miyotesse
Summary: After a long time holding back her feelings, a late night rest at Marinettes begins a chain of events that leads to Alya's tear filled confession. Can the two girls reconcile their feelings without tearing their friendship apart? Can these new and confusing feelings hold true amid a swirling storm of emotion, as deep fears and dark powers begin to manifest themselves?





	1. The Confession

Marinette did not have a spare bed. True, she had the little armoire sofa, but that thing was solid as a rock, and barely big enough for Manon to sleep on without legs dangling off it. So, when Alya had turned up at the Dupain-Cheng’s place, battered and bruised from a particularly brutal Akuma attack, whose injuries had only been dulled by the Lucky Charm, the two patissiers helped her to their daughter’s room, where she had collapsed onto the girl’s bed. She would have questioned where the dark haired girl was, but she was tired, and while she had every intention of resting just long enough to get herself enough energy to return home, she quickly succumbed to the allure of slumber. Which was why, when a mumble and a shift of a pink clad arm caught Alya’s bruises, she was roused from her sleep to find Marinette curled up beside her, an arm linked around her waist.

“Marinette?” Alya breathed, her voice barely a gasp as she looked across in the dim light to the girl’s face. Her lips were gently parted, and her eyes tightly shut. It looked like her sleep was not peaceful, but she was at least sleeping calmly.

 _This isn’t fair…_ Alya thought to herself as she tried to shift away without moving the girl. Her heart had already begun to pound against her chest, and her cheeks were flushing brightly as the young girl let out a cute little moan in her sleep. The brunette sighed softly, resigned to her fate as Marinette’s body pillow, letting her own arm slide down to the girl’s hips, where it rested, her fingers curling in against the small of her back.

 _Just let me have this one night… please let me pretend like I actually had a chance, and it went well, and we’re just… happy_ she thought, her body getting goosebumps as she began to feel the warmth of the other girl against her own. Her eyes opened slowly, taking in every inch of Marinette’s beautiful features, her cute little button nose, her faintly puffy lips, her moonlight pale skin. The girl could feel herself filling with happiness, but it was a hollow, lonely happiness, the kind of joy that knew that it was set up for a fall. Alya’s hand slowly moved upwards, her fingers shaking as she brought them to Marinette’s face.

 _I shouldn’t do this. I don’t… I can’t do this!_ She chided herself, bringing her nervous fingers closer to the errant strands of Marinette’s hair that had fallen over her cheek.

“Marinette,” she whispered again, letting her fingertips trace along the black hair that, in this light, looked like it was a radiant, almost glowing blue. She teased her finger under the strands, and pushed them aside, tucking them behind the girl’s ear with careful gentleness. Marinette let out a faint mumble, and pulled herself in closer in her sleep.

 _Oh shit…_ Alya thought, as her heart’s pounding grew even stronger, and her cheeks even brighter. _Why did I have to fall in love with my best friend?_ She lamented, closing her eyes to fight the prickly, spicy feeling that warned of her incoming tears. She leaned forwards, resting her forehead against her friends own, desperately wishing that she could do more, wishing that she could lean just a little further, and brush her lips against Marinette’s own. The warmth from the girl surged just a little more, and another needy whimper escaped Alya’s throat, and a hot breath from the girl tickled her lips. The girl pulled her eyes tighter, her hand falling to her side with a faint wince; her bruises were perhaps worse than she thought. But she resolved that she would take a hundred Akuma head on if it meant she could spend more time with Marinette like this, even if the girl would never know how she really felt, or reciprocated her feelings. With her cheeks flushed, her heart pounding and her head filling with hazy thoughts, she eventually returned to sleep, arms and legs subconsciously brushing against the girl she loved.

 

\---

 

A few weeks had drifted by since the Akuma attack, and Alya was sat in Marinette’s room, watching the girl pace around nervously with a smirk on her face.

“Come **on** Alya, this is serious! Adrien is going to be calling me in five minutes about this ‘important thing’ that I needed to tell him, and I am **absolutely** not ready for this! What if he doesn’t like me the same way? What if he’s in love with someone else? **What if he doesn’t even call?** ” the half Asian girl squeaked, arms flailing around in a panic.

“Girl, first of all, you are cute as a button, who **wouldn’t** be into you? Second of all, he’s Adrien Agreste, master of politeness. If you asked him to call you, he’ll call you! Just close your eyes, take a deep breath, and count to five. It’ll calm you down,” the brown haired girl said with a little giggle.

“Alright. Thank you Alya,” Marinette replied. The technique helped, right up until her phone began to ring. “Ahh! Alya, what do I do??” she squeaked.

“Try answering it?” the girl replied with a roll of her eyes.

“This is Marripain Netcheng! I mean, I’m depincheng marinumium. AAGH! I’m, I’m… I’m Marinette…” the girl stammered, as Alya suppressed a giggle. Seeing the girl acting so crazily made the girl smile, and made her heart throw a minor tantrum. She knew she shouldn’t be letting herself feel the way she did, especially when the girl was literally, **literally** on the phone to her crush, trying to confess to him.

“Deep breath,” Alya whispered, and the girl nodded. Alya watched her draw in a deep breath, her chest inflating a little as her lungs filled, and found her cheeks beginning to flush, so she quickly averted her gaze.

 _I don’t know if I’m an idiot for keeping this up, or a masochist, enjoying the pain she puts me through every hour of every day…_ she thought as the girl continued to mumble about inane things to the boy on the other side of the phone.

“Alya, help me!” Marinette hissed, clamping her hand over the bottom half of her cell, making have pleading, have panicked eyes at the girl. Alya hesitated, her brow ruffled.

 _Don’t you fucking dare do what you’re thinking of doing! It will blow up in our face!_ She snapped at herself, but the decision was already made.

“Alright. Just repeat after me. Adrien. I have something that I need to tell you, something that can’t go unsaid any longer. For the longest time, you have been in a special place in my heart. Ever since we first met, I have admired you. You are selfless, you are compassionate, you always put others before yourself,” she whispered into Marinette’s free ear, as Marinette parroted the words back to Adrien. “You are the first person I think of when I wake up, and you take all of the last lingering thoughts I have before falling asleep. Your eyes shine like the stars when you smile, and when you laugh, I feel like I’m being wrapped up in the thinnest, warmest silken threads. I haven’t told you until now, not because I was afraid of my love. I have been so afraid that… that my confession could ruin everything between us. I was afraid that the change it brought would make you… make you hate me, make you never want to look at me again. I can’t keep this inside me any longer though. I’m… I’m in love with you,” she whispered, taking a step backwards to clasp her hand over her own mouth. Excruciating moments passed as Marinette finished speaking.

“So, uh… that’s it really. I, uh… you… you do? That’s… **Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Adrien! You feel the same way? Aaaaahhhh!!!!! Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!! I’m so happy! Adrien! I love you! I love you!** ” the girl exclaimed, shrieking and hollering with joy as Alya closed her eyes.

“ask him to meet you,” she croaked into Marinette’s ear, her voice waivering.

“Adrien! W-w-would you l-like to h-h-hang out some time t-together? T-tomorrow? The cinema? That’s, yes! That sounds wonderful! I’ll see you then! I… Eeeee!! I love you too!” she said, giggling like a buffoon as she ended the call, hopping up and down for joy as she turned back to her friend. “Alya! He said yes! He… Alya? What’s wrong?” she asked, looking over at the girl. Alya’s hand was clasped over her mouth, her shoulders were sagged and hitched up and down every few seconds, and tears rolled violently down her cheeks. The girl shook her head, and tried to put on a fake smile, but it was no good. Everything had come crashing down upon her, and she was distraught.

“just so happy for you girl,” she whispered. Marinette took a step towards her, and Alya moved to step away, but misjudged the distance to the armoire, and stumbled backwards, falling to the floor. The fall jarred her back, and the one lingering injury that had failed to heal properly from two weeks ago, which just brought the memories of her midnight moment flooding back. Without shame or control, she let out a faint howl, and began to sob loudly, blubbering and whimpering as she lay there.

“Alya!” Marinette shrieked, leaping to her friend’s side. “Alya, what happened? Alya…” Marinette asked, before faltering. She could feel her own tears beginning to form as she knelt, helpless, beside her distraught friend.

“I’m sorry Marinette!” Alya managed between her sobs. “This is supposed to be your happy day,” she went on.

“Please tell me what’s wrong!” Marinette said, clasping her hand around Alya’s own. The darker skinned girl flinched again, and pulled herself in tighter. She took a few deep breaths, and managed to gain control over her sobbing, even if the tears still gently rolled around her puffy cheeks.

“Sorry. I just… there were so many emotions, so much feeling, I got a little carried away,” she said, sniffing and wiping her eyes with her sleeve. Marinette grabbed a tissue box, as the girl pulled herself back onto her knees. She dropped down beside Alya, and wrapped her arms around the girl tightly.

“You know you can tell me anything! Don’t keep things bottled up, it’s what a best friend is for!” the girl said, hugging her tightly. Alya patted Marinette on the shoulder.

“It’s fine Mari, really. C-come on, let me go, you have a d-date to plan,” she said, cursing her own body for betraying her twice in quick succession, as she felt the pounding and the blushing build up once again.

 

\---

 

“Alya… Even I can tell that this is something serious. Please tell me. Is it… is it about Adrien? I know things didn’t work out with Nino, but you’ll find someone! You’ll find someone you’re head over heels over, and you’ll hit it off, and you’ll tell them how you feel, and he’ll tell you he feels the same, and you’ll both be so happy! A-Alya!?” Marinette said, letting out a little eep as Alya’s tears began to flow once again. “Oh god… you weren’t in love with Adrien were you?” Marinette whispered quietly. “I won’t be mad, I promise.” The girl pushed herself away from her dark haired companion, taking deep breaths to try to regain some control over herself.

“I need to leave for a bit. I need some air,” she mumbled weakly, pushing herself to her feet.

“Alya… I know you're in pain, please, trust me with it! I can help you!”

“No… you really can’t,” Alya replied, a little bit of irritation boiling up within her.

“Why?” Marinette pleaded.

“You don’t want to know this. **Trust me** on that.”

“Why should I trust you if you won’t trust me? What’s so bad you can’t even tell your best friend?”

“Don’t do this Marinette…” Alya said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Alya! I’m trying to help you!” Marinette pouted, crossing the gap between them, taking hold of Alya’s hand. The woman pulled back, but Marinette held firm.

“Let go!” Alya snapped.

“Not until you tell me why you’re crying!”

“I said let…go!” Alya snapped, shoving Marinette backwards. The girl tottered back, and clipped the edge of the armoire. Time slowed as Alya saw the girl begin to tilt backwards, about to fall the same way she had done so, and her muscles acted on their own. She lunged forwards, and clasped for Marinette’s hand. She grabbed the girl, but their combined momentum was more than enough to pull her off her feet. She and Marinette both toppled over to the floor, collapsing onto one another. Once the confusion had cleared, Alya found herself straddling the girl, looking down at her, their chests pressed together firmly. The warmth of the dark haired girl and the pounding of her heart resonated with Alya’s own thundering chest, and, as she stared down into those dazzling, ocean blue eyes, she felt herself beginning to melt.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she mumbled, pulling herself away from the girl as every muscle in her body screamed at her to stay, to hold the girl close, to pull her in and kiss her. She scrambled to her feet, as Marinette’s brow furrowed.

“Alya?” she asked quietly, as the girl ran to the floor based door. She swung it open, and began to move down the stairs, and Marinette scampered forwards on all fours. “ **Alya!!** ” she screamed.

“It’s you. Not Adrien. I’ve been… I mean… you’ve been the one. It’s always been you. When I was with Nino, I was thinking of you,” Alya said alongside faint sobs, halting on the stairs, keeping her eyes from looking back up at Marinette. “Ever since day one, I’ve had a crush on you, and it’s driven me crazy. Everything in that confession was about you, I thought… I thought, if I could tell you how I felt without telling you directly, maybe it would help me cope, but… when I saw how you reacted to Adrien accepting the confession, I just… it twisted me up inside, and everything I’d done to protect myself from this eventuality just… crumbled. I’m sorry, Marinette,” she said, her cheeks being stained with fresh tears as she ducked down below the threshold of the door, dropping it behind her, leaving a flustered and utterly stunned Marinette alone in her room.

 


	2. The School : Alya

                The wind howled and lashed at Alya as she ran through the dimming streets of Paris, tears streaming down her eyes and sobs shaking her whole body. Her mind was a blur, she could barely tell where she was going or what she was stepping on, it was a small miracle that she even managed to make it back to her house at all. She practically ran into her front door, gasping desperately for air as she did, before thundering her fist against it as she slid down to her knees.

                “Just what the hell do you… oh!” Marlena Cesaire said, as she pulled the door open.

                “Mama,” Alya whimpered weakly, unable to articulate anything else between her tears. The woman said nothing else, leaning down to pull her daughter up into a tight embrace, leading her inside and kicking the door gently closed behind her. The smells of home, the familiar and the intriguing, wafted over the girl as she sobbed against her mother’s chest, despite her attention being otherwise drawn.

                “Alya! What happened? You weren’t attacked were you?” her mother whispered softly. Alya let out a faint whimper, and shook her head, clutching tighter at the white-clad woman. She felt two light weights clasp around either of her legs, as her two little sisters hugged her tightly too. She took in a deep breath, shuddering as she felt the adrenaline of the last few minutes leaking out of her, leaving her a jelly kneed, tear stained, sobbing wreck.

                “Su-sorry for scaring you,” she managed to get out, pulling back from the hug and managing to get to one of the kitchen stools before her knees gave out again. She continued to sob as memories of what had just transpired emerged from her subconscious, threatening to send her back down into her helplessness.

                “Precious, you don’t need to apologise. Take a few minutes, calm yourself down and wash your face. You can tell us what happened in your own time,” the woman said, brushing Alya’s hair out of her eyes, and planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. Despite her sobs and her despair, she smiled, just a little. “And maybe, we’ll even let you have some cookies,” she added, glancing down to her two twin daughters.

                “Yeah!” one of the younger girls called out.

                “Mama showed us how to make cookies! Ally can have one of mine if she wants!” the other one pipped in, grinning up at Alya, before being lightly shoved by her twin.

                “No fair! I was gunna give her one of mine!” the first said with a pout.

                “Hey now, come on. I’m sure I can eat two cookies,” Alya said, smiling weakly, brushing both the girls hair gently. They both grinned identical grins, and nodded, before their mother shooed them away from their sister.

 

                Twenty minutes later, Alya was feeling… refreshed if nothing else. She had a dull ache in her brain that seemed to emit a dull numbness through her body. It was hard to concentrate and even harder to keep up appearances.

                _But what’s one more day of lying to those you care about_ a thought echoed deeply inside her mind. She quickly derailed her train of thought by splashing a little more water on her face. A faint buzzing cut through the dullness, one that she reminded herself had been going on all the way home, and had basically not stopped. A hundred and seven alerts. Missed calls, text messages, twitter messages, even personal messages through the Ladyblog. And not just Marinette either, Nino, Adrien, Juleka, Rose, Alix and Kim. Most of the class, in fact, were trying to get hold of her. With a twitch of her eye, she let out a faint grunt, and did something she had not done in years. She turned her phone off.

                “Alya, cookies are ready!” her mother called, and the girl nodded her head, glancing in the mirror to check her fake smile. _Not to jovial, not too upset. Placated, and nonchalant. You’re a terrible person, you know that right?_ she thought to herself. Once again, the thought was repressed. The cookies, it turned out, were better than she had been expecting, and with the expensive Swiss milk that her mother had been able to secure from her work, they were positively sublime. Alya enjoyed them greedily and vigorously devouring them both along with her milk in mere minutes. She took a little time to enjoy her sisters presence either side of her as they merrily ate their way through their allotment of cookies.

                “So what’s caused my precious baby to come running home in a whirlwind of tears?” Marlena asked. Alya sighed softly, fighting back the guilt that rose within her every time she had to lie.

                “Marinette and I… got into a fight. It was pretty brutal too. I… I don’t know if she’ll even want to be friends with me anymore,” she said quietly, her cheeks flushing deeply. “We both said some things, and, uh… I might’ve kinda… pushed her,” she said, curling up into herself a little. _At least something you said was true_ she chided herself as her mother’s brow furrowed.

                “Alya… I know it hurts when best friends fight. You probably feel a little betrayed right now, a little abandoned. But I bet she’s feeling the same too. Sleep on it, and see how you feel in the morning. You might be surprised how you both feel after a good night’s sleep,” her mother said. Alya nodded her head weakly. It was barely into the evening, but sleep sounded about the best thing in the world right now. Her legs ached, her head throbbed and her subconscious kept reminding her of the events of the afternoon. She said her goodnights to her family, and made her way to her bedroom. Barely ten minutes later, having fallen face first onto her bed, she was asleep.

 

                “Mnnhhhh,” Alya moaned as she flailed her hand uselessly at her alarm clock. She eventually hit the thing, turning off the monstrous noise, and began to fumble around on her bed for her glasses. She eventually located them, and sat upwards, rubbing her eyes free of crud before placing them over her ears, and upon her nose.

                “Alya! You’ll be late if you sleep much longer! Breakfast’s almost ready!” her mother’s voice called to her from the kitchen, and she let out a little sigh. _So what? Like it even matters_ she thought as she pulled herself to the edge of the bed.

                “OK Mama!” she called out, her voice ragged and hoarse. She let out a little cough, and took a sip from her water bottle to try and clear her grogginess. She pulled her clothing off, and stared at the small but not insignificant pile of dirty laundry that rested in one corner of her room. She glanced to her wardrobe, which was almost empty, and let out a silent curse. _Hey, why not wear the I Heart Ladybug shirt where the heart is red with black spots on it. That’ll totally not make you seem like a nerdy freak. Just a shame all your flannel is dirty, how else will you broadcast your sexuality without being clear about it to everyone?_ she thought, once again belittling herself as she stood in her underwear, staring at her own reflection.

                “We want waffles!!” both her sisters called out in unison as they ran past the girls bedroom. Alya smiled weaky, rolling her eyes. It took her ten minutes of idle nothingness to change her underwear and socks, and pull on a loose fitting black skirt. She hated skirts, but there was no choice, unless she wanted to wear those booty shorts she bought ‘ironically’ to skeev Alix out when the girls had had their big shopping trip. After much begrudging thought, she decided to put the ladybug t-shirt on, backwards, thankful that it did not look too obvious what she had done. She pulled on a tight and slightly long sleeved purple knitted cardigan, which hung just below the waist.

                “Oh boy… I’m just a purple streak in my hair away from being Juleka,” she muttered to herself, before giggling faintly. “Guess I better get used to being a social pariah too…” she added, her shoulders sagging.

 

                Alya didn’t stop for breakfast, instead taking an apple and a banana with her to eat on the way in. She told her mother that it was so she could meet up with Marinette and sort things out before school, but in truth, she wanted to get to school early to speak with someone rather different.

                “Come on Nath, you’re getting a better deal out of this than me! Twenty Euro, plus you’d be sitting right next to Marinette! Don’t think I haven’t noticed how you look at her. Imagine how much you’d be able to talk with her if you sat next to her!” she said, looking down at the artist, who was only half paying attention to her.

                “If you were enough of a sleuth to notice that, you should’ve also noticed that I can’t talk to her at all. I get embarrassed and then Chloe calls me a tomato. It’s mean. And I like my seat, I can draw back here,” he said, one hand balled up and resting on his cheek, the other idly sketching at a piece of paper.

                “C’mon, pleeeease. I’ll let you use my discount card at Ginkgo. You could get yourself a brand new tablet, 35% off! That’s gotta be worth like a hundred euro!” she said, pressing her hands together pleadingly. Before the boy could respond, the door rattled open, and Alya let out a yelp, dropping down to her knees and hiding behind the desk. Juleka, Rose and Alix walked in, chatting between themselves. They stopped and regarded the peeking Alya with some curiosity.

                “Alya, what the heck is going on? Marinette said you’d run away!” Alix said, as the girl slowly pulled herself back to her feet.

                “Uh… it’s a long story. But hey! You know what’d be fun! We could totally play matchmaker! If I sit next to you, Mylene can sit next to Ivan!” the girl said, a practiced grin of enthusiasm on her face.

                “Pass. Mylene takes good notes and lets me borrow her homework. You often skip class to go chase Ladybug. I’m better off with her,” Alix replied with a subtle smirk.

                “That’s cold, tiny skater,” Alya hissed. She let out a sigh, and trudged back to the front of the class. An idea struck her, and she grabbed her bag, dropping down onto the seat in front of her and to the right, the seat that belonged to Adrien.

                “Alya, maybe you should…” Juleka began, but wasn’t able to finish as Chloe and Sabrina emerged into the class, accompanied by a cacophony of noise. One by one, the class filtered in, until the only people left to arrive were the three Alya was dreading the most. The one she lost to, the one she ran from, and the one who knew exactly why. As the door slid open, her breath caught in her throat, and she gripped the desk firmly.

                “Nino!” she exclaimed as the boy entered, jumping as his name was shouted out.

                “Hi… Alya?” he said after a few seconds of silence, before it dawned on him where she was sitting. “Whoa, that’s my bro’s seat, what’re you doing there?” he asked, slumping in beside her.

                “You know damn well why I can’t sit in my regular seat!” she hissed as she leaned in to him. “She told him and he told you. He’s your ‘bro’ so of course he told you, so stop being such a dolt!” she continued.

                “Alya, honest, I don’t know nothing! Wait, she, he… did you confess to marrmmmgghhh!” he began, as Alya hastily clamped her hands across his mouth.

                “That thing that you are referring to might have actually happened and it has made everything confusing and bad and I really, _really_ don’t want to speak to **Marinette!** ” she squeaked, as the dark haired girl entered the classroom, with Adrien close behind her. Both girls stared at one another in silence, their cheeks reddening as the moments drifted painfully by, the rest of the class going on with their conversations. Alya gulped faintly, tears stinging in the back of her eyes as she looked across at the girl, who seemed to be in a state of sheer panic. As she watched, Marinette’s hand slowly moved upwards, clutching at her T-shirt. _She only does that when she’s absolutely terrified. Great job asshole, your best friend is scared shitless of you_ she thought, as Marinette took in a deep breath.

                “Good of you to turn up on time for a change, Mr Agreste, Ms Dupain-Cheng,” a bubbly but sarcastic voice said behind the two youngsters, right as Marinette opened her mouth to talk. They turned to see Miss Caline Bustier stood behind them, arms crossed, a smile on her face. The two shuffled into the room, and regarded the new seating arrangement. Adrien opened his mouth to protest, but Marinette quickly shook her head, pulling him away. The sight of her arms wrapped around his made Alya flinch, turning away quickly, her eyes clenched shut.

                “What happened between you two?” Nino whispered once the class had started, a look of concern on his face, but Alya refused to answer. She had to focus on the class, had to focus on anything that wasn’t the presence of Marinette sat right behind her.


	3. Flight : Alya

As the bell for the end of class rang, Alya was out the door like a shot. The entire class, she had felt Marinette behind her, staring at her, judging her, and it was making her sick. She ran to the closest toilets she could, slamming into a stall and collapsing to her knees, but the vomit never came. She heaved, but her body refused to confirm or deny anything of the feelings within her, the tightness in her chest, her churning stomach, the dizziness in her head all mixing to make her barely able to think. As Alya shifted into a seated position, resting her head in her hands, she heard the door push open.

“What kind of freak just runs out of class like that? Who does she think she is, Naruto Uzumaki?” the shrill and accusatory voice of Chloe rang out in the echoing room.

“Um…” Sabrina’s nervous voice came shortly after.

“Uugh, get some culture Sabrina! He is from a Japanese cartoon called Anime. Adrikins loves it, so it must be amazing! Naruto is a boy who runs very fast, and… um… he jumps high too. And he runs with his arms behind his back. But that’s not important! What is important is Alya is acting like a creep, and I plan on finding out exactly what! I still owe her for taking pictures of my locker!” the blonde replied. Alya bit her tongue, and balled her hands.

 _Right, I’m the creep. Damn, get a life Chloe! That was, like, six months ago!_ she thought, leaning closer to the crack in the door to see if she could spot the duo.

“Right! I’ll try and find out what’s going on, maybe Nino knows?”

“That bubble headed moron probably doesn’t even know which feet his shoes are supposed to go on, but it’s worth a try. I could always ask Daddy to get information from her mother, she works for us you know,” Chloe replied, and Alya’s eyes bulged. It took every ounce of self-control she had not to burst through the door and slam the girl against the mirror she was likely preening in.

“That’s a great idea Chloe!” Sabrina squeaked, like the good little follower she was.

“Of course it is, it was _my_ idea. Now hurry up, I want information before the end of the day!” Chloe snapped, and Sabrina let out another little whimper, before scuttling off. Chloe turned to leave, before halting in front of the closed door. “Go ahead and warn her if you want, Juleka, it won’t help,” she said, rattling her fist against the door, making Alya clamp her hands over her mouth. Chloe paced out of the room, and it felt into silence once more. Alya waited a few moments, before screaming into her clasped hands, muffling but not completely muting her aggravated roars.

 

A few minutes later, after a short time to calm herself and a splash of water to her face, Alya emerged slowly from the toilets, head still full of mixed up confusion. She heard familiar voices talking, and quickly slipped behind one of the rows of lockers. Adrien and Marinette walked into her view, before Marinette halted.

“It’s just, everything is so mixed up now! She’s not being fair about this, I just want to… uuugh, I want to scream! I want to, to, just, grab her, and, and, and…” the dark haired girl said, continuing her conversation with the blond boy, who had a faint smirk upon his face.

 _Not sure who I hate more, him for being a smug bastard, or myself for calling him a smug bastard…_ Alya mused as she peaked around the lockers to get a better look at the duo.

“Calm down Marinette. Alya just needs a little time. I’m sure she’s very scared right now, and probably not thinking clearly,” he said, patting the girl on the shoulder. Behind the lockers, Alya wanted to be furious, she wanted to be seething. But his words had hit home with her too. Behind the wildness and the panic was dull, cold fear. Fear of losing her best friend. Fear of rejection from her family.

“I know… But it’s just so… so stupid! If she just came to me and talked, we could… clear all this up! I could… I could tell her… that I’m…” Marinette began, her speech quickly falling into quiet mumbles, her shoulders hitching as she drew in her breath. Adrien nodded softly, and pulled the girl into his arms. Marinette let out a soft whimper, clasping at his shirt as she softly sobbed.

“She just needs a little time, I’m sure of it,” he said, brushing along her hair gently as the girl whimpered a response. Alya afforded herself another peak, and immediately regretted it. As she stared across at the girl she loved, sobbing into the arms of the boy she loved, as a direct result of her own actions, something in her chest gave out. She winced, and slid slowly to the floor, her back to the lockers. White hot prickles assaulted her eyes, as she clasped her hands over her mouth to stop herself from crying out. Marinette and Adrien left shortly after, and, once she was absolutely sure they were out of earshot, with tears streaming down her cheeks and soaking her fingers, she let out a wail.

“Why? Why him! I can’t even bring myself to hate him! None of this is fair…” she managed to whimper, her body jolting with every hitched sob. After a few minutes of muttered whimpers about Marinette and Adrien, she became aware of a presence seated beside her. A gentle cough brought her to her senses.

“So…” Juleka muttered gently, as Alya looked up at her, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. “You have a crush on… Adrien?” she asked, her tone implying that she knew all too well what the truth actually was. Alya shook her head, taking in a deep breath. This was unexpected, and she was utterly unprepared to talk to anyone.

“Uh… not exactly…” she mumbled between sniffs. _Why do noses always get so runny when you cry? Do they get jealous of eyes and start leaking stuff too?_ she mused idly. Her normally quite potent mind was drawing a complete blank at the sheer absurdity of the situation. Two days ago, the idea of her sitting sobbing on the locker room floor while Juleka Couffaine gently patted her shoulder would have sounded beyond ridiculous. And yet…

“Don’t worry about Chloe. She’ll fail,” the tall girl said, matter-of-factly. Alya nodded her head in thanks, still trying to dry her eyes.

“Thank you,” Alya mumbled weakly.

“’s OK. And try not to worry too much about… the other thing. Speaking as one person who is… in love with their best friend… to another. Things work out. Maybe not how you would ideally like them, but… they work out OK,” Juleka said, giving Alya a weak smile, offering her hand to help the girl to her feet. Alya took it graciously, pulling herself back upright.

“Thanks again, Juleka. So, um… you were in there too? When Chloe was doing the whole eviltwistedbitch thing?” Alya asked. Juleka shook her head.

“No, but I was able to hear what she was saying. She is not quiet. And I am a lot smarter than she thinks I am,” Juleka said, with a faint smile.

“Ah,” Alya mumbled. She was keen to know the full story, but she didn’t really know what to say without being awkward, and Juleka seemed uninterested in continuing the conversation. Alya stood there for a few moments, before sighing. “I think I’m going to go home. Could you please tell Madamoiselle Bustier that I’m leaving. Tell her it was cramps, she should be OK with that,” she said, unlocking her locker. She pulled out her bag and glanced down at her still silent and shut down phone. Thankful that she kept her phone and her music separate, she untangled the mess of cables that were her headphones, and slipped the buds in, before flicking the device on, saying her goodbye to Juleka. A few minutes later, she was out of the school, and wandering along the walkways of the Seine, breeze flicking through her hair.

 

“Mama, are you home?” Alya called out, as she pushed open the door to the apartment. She couldn’t hear any running around or giggling, and there was no large pair of boots outside the door, so her father was still at work, and the twins at daycare. “Guess not…” the girl mumbled as she slunk through the empty house. She returned to her room, dropping her bag onto her bed with a defeated sigh.

 _Why couldn’t I just keep my mouth shut, it would’ve been for the best_ she thought, dropping into her chair. She drew out her phone, and stared at it for a few moments. The blank screen reflected her own image back at her, taunting her with her own darkened eyes and ridiculous clothing. The girl sneered at her reflection, and pulled off the clothing in a huff. She began to bundle up her clothes, and tottered along to the washing machine to start the cleaning. She considered going to sleep, but thought better of it, choosing instead to jump into a videogame. Ten minutes into the game, she tossed the controller aside in frustration.

“Dumb hidden objectives! How am I supposed to find the minefields if the car’s a bunch of garbage?” she snapped, before looking around for her phone. _Left it in the bedroom like an idiot,_ she thought, padding through the house to get it. She also grabbed a blanket and her dressing gown, just so she could sell the illusion of illness if her parents happened to return home. Dropping back onto the sofa, she turned her phone on.

Bing.

Bingbing.

Bingbingbingbingbingbingbingbingbingbingbingbingbingbingbingbingbingbingbingbingbing…

“Holy crap!” she muttered, as her phone went berserk with alerts. She tried to concentrate on them, but they scrolled too quickly for her to check. _Come on, this is ridiculous. Fifty, sixty, seventy… three. Seventy three message from Marinette. Eight from Adrien. Five from Nino, twelve from Rose, three from Alix, two from Juleka, one from Kim, one from Max, And two from unknown numbers. What the hell was she thinking…_ Alya thought, her hands shaking as the phone finally stopped making noise. _Uugh, I am not in the mood to look through all of those,_ she thought. As she went to silence the device, another alert popped up. It was from the Ladyblog.

“An Akuma! Oh man, this is perfect! Ladybug hunting, here I go!” she exclaimed, rushing to her bedroom. She hastily pulled on the outfit she had worn to school, with T-shirt right way round, and headed out of the house, with her Akuma kitbag on her shoulder.

 


	4. Spots Off : Alya

                Alya had wanted to see Ladybug. That was always her goal, to try and catch her hero doing something amazing. She knew she was putting herself in danger, she was even putting the heroes under increased pressure, but she did it anyway, even though it made her feel guilty. Her love for Ladybug, while not of the same type as her feelings for Marinette, was just as strong. She looked up to her, she was her idol. She had certainly **not** been expecting to run into the girl, almost literally, as she spiralled out of the way of an attack, and into the alley she was hiding in.

                “Eeee! Ladybug!” Alya squeaked, as she saw the heroine cartwheel towards her.

                “Alya! I mean, uh, Ladyblogger! What are you doing here? Stupid question really…” Ladybug said, looking over at the girl, who had the biggest grin on her face.

                “I got the alert and came as quick as I could. Are you nervous about this fight? You and Chat seem to be having a few problems. I bet his butterfly infected object thingie isn’t that stapler, it’s too obvious. Look, that scrap of cloth in his belt, it’s completely off compared to the rest of his getup, I bet that’s it!” Alya rattled off, completely failing to notice the look of panic on Ladybug’s face as she glanced beyond the heroine.

                “Are you OK?” Ladybug asked her urgently, her hands clasping onto the girl’s shoulders. Alya’s heart skipped a beat as she turned back to see the heroine looking at her intensely. The two girls stared at one another for a few moments, before Alya coughed gently, turning away to hide her blush.

                “Uh, y-yeah, I’m, I’m OK. I only just got here. Um…” she she managed, as Ladybug breathed a huge sigh of relief.

                “Stay hidden somewhere safe. I’ll come and check on you if we manage to beat him. Please, don’t move,” she said. Alya found herself unable to look back at the masked girl, and simply nodded at her suggestion. As Ladybug whisked herself back up to the rooftops with her Yoyo, Alya found herself wishing that the girl would stay just a moment longer.

                “Good luck,” she said, barely above a whisper, as she watched her go. She glanced around, looking for somewhere safe and hidden, but with a good view of proceedings. She made absolutely certain not to appear in the footage herself, she was going to post it on the blog later, and if she was ‘home with cramps’ she couldn’t well appear excited and bouncy out on the streets. _Although_ , she thought, as she watched the two heroes battle the giant paper construct, _I feel weird right now. My stomach is heaving, and I can’t catch my breath_. Minutes later, the akuma was defeated, and, true to her word, Ladybug returned to the alley.

                “You were amazing! Absolutely incredible, the way you juggled those giant elastic band balls! Be still my beating heart!” Alya said, laughing a little nervously as Ladybug smiled warmly.

                “Is something the matter? Oh wow, I can’t believe I’m going to say it like this, but, you seem a little… not all here,” the masked girl asked. Alya shook her head gently.

                “Sorry. It’s a personal thing, I’m sure you’ve got better things to do,” she said.

                “Nono, I’ve got nothing! I mean, I **do** have an, an, alter ego, but, i-if you want to talk, then we can talk…” she began, as a shrill beeping next to her ear made her flinch, “…later. If you want to,” she said, a warm smile on her face. It took a herculean effot on Alya’s part to keep her jaw from dropping. Her idol, her hero, was asking to speak to her, alone, about ‘personal things’.

                “Yes! I mean… yes! I’d love to I definitely will! Where, when, any time, any place!” she squeaked excitedly, as Ladybug giggled at her sudden shift in mood.

                “I’ll come and get you around 8pm. Make sure you have your window open,” she said with a cryptic smile, whirling her yoyo up and into the roofrops, swooshing up with it shortly after.

 

                8pm couldn’t come fast enough for Alya. She had returned home to her mother looking quite sternly at her. She had made her excuses and was sent to her room for punishment, although it was hardly that. She uploaded her pictures and video to the blog, had a brief flurry of conversation with a few regular users, before she quickly grew bored. It was now ten to eight, and she had, with her mother’s permission, completed her washing and drying, organised her wardrobe, selected an outfit for the night, tidied her room, played on her 3DS, and was now idly tossing a scrunchy band up and down against her wall.

                “Wow, I thought you’d at least be waiting outside by now,” a singsong voice spoke outside the girl’s window. The hairs rose on Alya’s neck as she turned to see Ladybug drop down onto her little balcony. The girl stood, framed in the moonlight, and this time Alya’s jaw hung freely open as she stared. Thankfully, her stupor only lasted a few moments as Ladybug approached her, sitting down on her bed.

                “Wouldn’t want to rob you of your grand entrance,” the brown haired girl said, spinning her seat to face the girl. A pang of familiarity rushed through her, like this action, this position, was something that she had done before, but she quickly shook the thought away.

                “Why thank you!” Ladybug replied with a giggle. Alya felt something rise deep within her, a shudder running through her spine and her cheeks beginning to heat up.

                “So, uh… w-why are… I mean, to what do I owe the pleasure?” she asked, struggling to keep her cool.

                “You seemed like you needed to talk to someone. And I did promise to come and get you. I was planning on whisking you away to the rooftops, but something tells me you aren’t in the mood for that either,” the hero replied. Alya visibly sagged.

                “Yeah, I kinda need some grounding right now. But, why even bother? Like, I’m just some girl, why are you making a personal visit just so you can listen to my dumb problems?” she asked, pulling her feet up onto her chair, hugging her knees.

                “You are hardly just ‘some girl’ miss Ladyblog. Besides Chat Noir, you’re probably the person I talk to the most as Ladybug. Even if you do constantly try to figure out who I am, I do consider you a friend,” the suit-clad hero replied, a hint of accusatory sarcasm in her voice.

                “Hey, I stopped trying to do that… sorta. After I figured out that you were around the same age as me, I started thinking what I would want happen if I were in your position. Snooping nuisance trying to expose my identity was not exactly high on the list,” she replied. Ladybug smiled, and Alya felt her heart skip a beat.

                “I had noticed your blog had shifted focus. Thank you,” Ladybug said, with a wider smile and a little giggle that made Alya’s heart consider skipping every other beat it took. Alya nodded faintly, before taking a deep breath.

                “So, uh… could I ask you some questions? Off the record, of course, I totally get that this isn’t a business visit,” she said, looking over at the girl.

                “Hmm… That seems fair. But only if you answer one of mine for each one you ask,” she said. Alya nodded, smile growing as she curled back out of herself slightly.

                “OK. So, first question. Are you super strong in real life too, or do you get boosted, I dunno, strength, agility, that kinda thing?” she asked.

                “It’s mostly the boost. But I have been getting stronger, faster and more agile in real life. Guess saving Paris is a pretty good workout,” Ladybug replied. “Now… why are you in such a funk?” she asked. Alya groaned, and span in her chair.

                “Uugh, OK, fine, I had a crush on someone and got shot down pretty hard, it’s stupid. You don’t want any of the boring details, I got my heart stepped on and it sucks and I lost my best friend,” she said, angry more at herself than at the hero.

                “What happened?”

                “My friend has a crush on someone else, and me being the idiot I am offered to help them ask their crush out. But I messed up, and ended up telling her how I felt instead,” she said. Her eyes bulged slightly when she realised that she had messed up and revealed the gender of her crush. Ladybug seemed to either not notice, or not care. “Ahh, now I get to ask another one!” she said, as she saw the girl begin to form another question. Ladybug rolled her eyes.

                “Alright, fine. Ask away.”

                “Hmm… how do you do it? How do you go toe to toe with those superpowered monster Akuma every day without getting scared?” she asked, her tone sombre.

                “I… I lie to myself. A LOT. Something I’ve been doing more than I first thought…” Ladybug replied, looking wistful. “AH! I mean, I, I tell myself I’m not scared even when, deep down, I’m terrified! I just, I tell myself I have to do it, because no-one else can,” she added, a little flustered. Alya nodded her head, a weak smile on her lips.

                “I get that. I’m something of an expert when it comes to lying,” she said with a sigh.

 

                The two girls continued their conversation, Alya eventually explaining what had transpired between herself and Marinette, and about how none of her family knew. Ladybug answered questions about her heroic activities, tentatively answered questions about herself, and even offered the girl some advice.

                “You need to talk to her, Alya. I’m sure she’s just as confused and afraid as you are, perhaps even more so. I can certainly imagine her wondering if she could have handled the situation better, or wondering if she should have followed you, visited you. She probably hates herself for letting you be so alone through it all,” the masked girl said, her voice waivering ever so slightly.

                “I guess…” Alya mumbled. Her attention was elsewhere. The heroine had convinced her to read through all the messages on her phone, and she had discovered a web of panic weaved by Marinette over her disappearance.

 

                Mari: Oh god Alya, please pick up, please! I need to know you’re OK, we need to talk about this, ALYA!

                Mari: Alya, I’m so sorry, please forgive me for being so blind. It wasn’t fair to put you through that.

                Mari: ALYA! PLEASE CALL ASAP!

                Mari: Alya, I’m getting really scared now, Nino doesn’t know where you are, no-one does!

                Mari: Alya, I am literally walking the streets of Paris alone at night trying to find you! PLEASE CALL!

                Mari: The streets of Paris get really weird at night. Why does someone need to move two sofas at midnight?

 

                And on it went. Alya had long past the point of her eyes misting up, so now every so often a blob of salty water would fall from her cheeks as she poured over the messages.

                “Alya?” Ladybug whispered, as the girl gently placed the phone on the counter.

                “Ladybug… I don’t know what to do. I want to make this right, but… but how do I just… go back to pretending like I don’t love her, that every time she does that cute little laugh or flicks her hair back just so, I don’t want to pull her in close or kiss her or tell her that she brings a beautiful, warm light into my life. How the heck are you supposed to be friends with someone when you feel like that?” she said, looking the hero dead in the eyes. The masked girl blushed brightly, looking around nervously.

                “W-well… M-maybe that’s for, uh, t-the two of you to d-discuss?” the hero stammered. Alya looked across at her, and her eyes widened.

                “Oh god, Ladybug, I’m sorry, I wasn’t, that wasn’t questioned at you, I was just kinda snapping at myself. I do that a lot, I’m really sorry. You’ve been so helpful tonight, really, I can’t thank you enough,” she said, scrambling to her feet to reassure the girl, who nodded faintly. “I need to ask for one last favour though. I can’t let this mess crash over into another day. I need to speak to Mari, face to face, tonight. Would you take me to her place?” the girl asked.

 

                Ten minutes later, after a rooftop rush that left Alya’s head spinning a little, the two girls landed on the little terrace outside Marinette’s window.

                “She always leaves this door locked but leaves a key out here. She told me she does it in case she needs to sneak in after her curfew, but I think she just does it because she’s paranoid. I can’t see her as the curfew breaking type,” Alya said in a whisper as she searched through the flower pots for the key. Ladybug let out a giggle that made the girl’s heart flutter all over again. “Um… L-Ladybug. If… if things don’t go well tonight…” she began.

                “They will go fine! You said it yourself that you are too harsh on yourself. Think positively,” the masked girl replied. Alya smiled and nodded.

                “Nono, this isn’t that. Not quite. I just, um… if Marinette, the girl who has been attempting to jump Adrien Agreste’s bone for close to three years now, SOMEHOW doesn’t want to give that up for a boring nerd girl with a killer inferiority complex, I was wondering if… if I might… have a chance at… someone like you?” she said, steeling herself for what she expected to be a polite rejection.

                “I… wow. I can’t really, because, like, superhero stuff. But… if I could, you would probably have more of a chance than anyone else,” Ladybug replied, blushing faintly. Alya’s own blush mirrored Ladybugs, and the two stared at one another for a few moments, before letting out a pair of giggles.

                “You’re too sweet, LB, really! Don’t think I won’t remember that,” Alya said with a smirk, as Ladybug rolled her eyes.

                “Just keep what I said in mind, OK. The next few hours are going to be more than a little bit crazy,” the hero replied. Alya nodded, and clicked the little key in the lock on the door. The girl paced slowly into the room, and over to the bed.

                “What the… She’s not here?” Alya squeaked, as she looked over the empty bed. She spun to face Ladybug, who was lingering just inside the door. “Ladybug, she’s not here!” she exclaimed, running over to the girl in a mild panic.

                “Alya. Alya, wait. Jeez, I really didn’t think this through. This is what I get for running with the first idea that comes into my head. I guess there’s no avoiding it,” the tightly dressed girl said, somewhat theatrically.

                “Ladybug? I don’t understand,” Alya said, looking up slightly into the girl’s eyes.

                “You will in a moment. Tikki, Spots off,” she said, and a flash of pink light enveloped her.


	5. The Night: Marinette

                Marinette stared at the open entranceway to her room, mouth open and eyes wide. _It’s you… it’s always been you…_ the words echoed in her head over and over as her heart slammed against her chest. _Ever since day one… crush on you… confession… crumbled_. Marinette let out a loud gasp, and pulled herself up onto her feet.

                “ALYA!” she yelled, dashing after the girl, thundering down the stairs.

                “Marinette! Please make less noise! Your friend left just now, she seemed upset. Did you two have a fight?” Sabine called from the little living space, as Marinette skidded to a halt, her arms flailing as she sought for something to grab onto.

                “Something like that. Maman, I think I did something really, **really** selfish, and bad!” she exclaimed, hopping from foot to foot. “And if I don’t go after Alya and make things right, it could make things even worse!”

                “Calm down a little, my child. Come and explain to me what has happened,” the short Asian woman said, gesturing to the sofa beside her. Marinette glanced around nervously, before nodding, pacing towards her mother. One hast explanation later, Sabine was brushing her daughter’s hair gently as the girl nestled in against her.

                “Well, if it isn’t my two most favourite girls in the world! Everything OK my little sweet muffin?” Tom’s booming voice called as he approached from the bakery. Marinette sighed, and shook her head.

                “Alya helped me confess my feelings to Adrien, but then told me she had feelings for me, and then ran away, and now I can’t get hold of her at all, and I’m really worried,” she said. Sabine gave her husband a knowing glance, and he gestured towards the bakery door. Sabine nodded.

                “Well! Let’s not mope about here feeling sad! I’ll head out towards Raincomprix’s station and see if he can help, you head towards her house!” the man said, grabbing Marinette’s big puffy coat, and tossing it towards her.

                “I shall attempt to contact her mother to find out if she has been in contact, and I will explain the situation. Though I will leave out the nature of the conflict, and it might be worth you both doing the same. It is not our place to out your friend to your class,” Sabine said. The two Dupains nodded at her, and headed off into the night, Tom at a steady jog and Marinette texting furiously on her phone.

 

                “Adrien! Thank goodness. Have you heard from Alya at all?” Marinette squeaked into her phone, as she walked hurriedly through the streets of Paris.

                “Hey Marinette! No, I haven’t spoken to her. Is something wrong?” the boy on the other end of the call said.

                “It’s complicated. She was, uh… and then… Ack, I can’t explain without explaining it, and it wouldn’t be right to explain without her explaining it,” she said, trying to figure out how to word it to the boy. The call was silent for a few seconds.

                “I’m a little lost. Can you explain it to me again?” Adrien eventually said, with an almost inaudible chuckle. Marinette sighed faintly.

                “OK, but you must absolutely promise not to tell anyone **anything** about what I’m about to tell you,” she said sternly. “So, uh… earlier… Alya was kinda… coaching me through my confession of love,” she said, the confidence leant to her by the determination to find her friend swiftly running out.

                “Uh… confession of love?” Adrien asked, sounding genuinely confused. Marinette opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. “Marinette?” he asked, as the girl stood, stoic, mouth opening and closing as she tried to speak.

                “Ahahahahahahaha, just a big joke, just a joke, when I phone you earlier it was all just about f-friendship! I was just messing with you just now, aha, ha, haha…” she squeaked out, stumbling to her knees.

                “That’s what I thought too! It was a sweet way of asking me to hang out with you! Now what’s this about Alya?” the boy asked.

                _Oh my god… he’s actually genuine about it too. He’s a completely naive goofball_ Marinette thought.

                “Please try and get hold of her and ask her to call me,” she stated quietly, hanging up the phone before she broke completely. She stared at the screen, vision slowly becoming blurred as her eyes filled with tears. She wanted to scream, wanted to curl up into a ball, anything to try and keep her world from slowly being pulled apart.

                “Marinette! Marinette!” a high pitched voice chirped by her ear. She blinked, and turned to look at the floating red and black creature that was currently frantically trying to get her attention.

                “Tikki?” she croaked faintly.

                “Marinette, you’ve been here for almost half an hour! Your phone’s been ringing!” the tiny creature said.

                “Alya!” Marinette gasped, fumbling her phone into her hands. She checked the latest callers, two from the bakery and one from her father. She sagged visibly. “Oh… OH! Ohhh man, I am in so much trouble,” she said, pulling herself back to her feet.

                “Marinette! Before you go, here,” Tikki said, dashing into the girl’s purse, pulling out a tissue, “you’ve been crying. A lot,” she added, floating up to dab at the girl’s cheeks. Marinette sniffed slightly, taking the tissue and wiping her cheeks and eyes.

                “Thanks Tikki. I’m sorry if I worried you. Things are… not good,” she said quietly. The Kwami nodded her head, sneaking back into her hiding place.

                “If you would like to talk about it, I am always here,” the tiny spirit said.

 

                Marinette returned home to her mother’s usual mix of accusatory statements and worried hugs. The girl apologised for her absence, lying that her phone had run out of charge and she had lost track of the time. Tom arrived a little later, letting them both know that Marlene had informed them that Alya had returned home, and that she was not to be disturbed. Marinette thanked her father for his help, and, with her parents’ permission, returned to her room.

                “Tikki, what am I going to do? Alya probably hates me now! Adrien must think I’m crazy!” she lamented as she flopped onto her bed, pulling her duvet up into a bundle to hug. She pressed her face into it, and screamed faintly.

                “Maybe you need to take a step back and look at the situation from another perspective,” Tikki said, flittering over to the girl, who sat up slowly.

                “What do you mean?” she said.

                “Well, you didn’t get rejected by Adrien, he simply misunderstood your intention. OK, so you might not be dating, but he values you as a friend. I’d like to think you were mature enough to recognise that as something special,” the Kwami said, as Marinette pouted a little. She didn’t like it when Tikki lectured her, mainly because the little spirit was more often than not completely correct, and telling her a truth that she didn’t want to accept.

                “I… guess…” she mumbled. “But I **really** liked Adrien!” she whimpered. Tikki nodded her head slightly, and let out a chuckle.

                “You certainly threw yourself at the idea of liking him. Pictures, photos, keeping track of his schedule. You were… obsessing,” she said, gesturing to the walls where only a few pictures remained

                “Hey, I stopped doing that, uh… after he came round and almost saw them,” Marinette said shyly.

                “You took them down when Alya told you that you were being a creepy stalker. You changed your behaviour once you found out it was making her uncomfortable,” the red and black creature replied.

                “What are you getting at, Tikki?” Marinette said, eyes narrowing a little.

                “Nothing that you don’t already subconsciously know. The other way you should be taking a new perspective about this is; you were confessed to today. Someone you care about deeply told you that you are the most important person in their world. How does that make you feel?” the spirit asked. Marinette opened her mouth to say something, but found that once again her words had abandoned her. She began to think back on the previous day, hanging out with Alya, going shopping together after catching an early film. She thought back even more, Alya always seemed so excited to hang out with her, and, she realised, they always seemed to do what Marinette wanted. It was never ‘hunt for ladybug’, instead, it was shopping for fabrics or walking through parks looking for inspiration, or looking at the latest displays in La Marais or the Champs-Élysées.

                “Tikki…” she mumbled softly, as yet more memories stirred. The hugs, the gentle head rubs, the encouragement, the reassuring smiles and waves. Memories from her times as Ladybug, whenever Alya was around, question number one was always about Marinette. ‘Have you seen my friend Marinette, she was in there with me and we got separated!’ ‘Ladybug, did Marinette get out OK?’ ‘Ladybug, Marinette isn’t answering her phone, I’m really scared she might be hurt’. Every memory flooded the girl, and soon she found herself openly weeping once again.

                “It’s OK Marinette,” Tikki whispered softly, rubbing the girl’s shoulder gently.

                “No it’s not! My best friend was in love with me for years and I couldn’t even see it! I’m so selfish! So… so bull headed and, and, now she hates me because I didn’t even bother to say anything when she confessed to me and I forced it out of her and I’m a terrible friend!” Marinette whimpered between her sobs, clinging to her duvet.

                “You can still fix this, Marinette! You need to figure out exactly how and what you feel, and then you and she need to talk about this. Together,” Tikki said, carrying the box of tissues from Marinette’s desk to her bed. Marinette whimpered again, and wiped her eyes.

                “How I feel doesn’t matter! Her feelings are more important,” Marinette said quietly, clutching at her bedshirt. “I wonder how many times she told herself that…”

                “Marinette please don’t be so hard on yourself.”

                “But I deserve it, Tikki! I’ve been a terrible friend, a terrible person… Why couldn’t I see it? Why did I keep rubbing my stupid crush in her face and not stop for one second and consider how she felt?” Marinette snapped, clutching the duvet tighter.

                “So, talk to her. Ask her why she kept quiet for so long. Tell her how you feel now,” Tikki said.

                “How I feel now? How I feel… about… her?” Marinette mumbled softly.

                “It might take time to figure it out, but you two are strong. You’ll get through it!” the little spirit said jovially

                “It’s not going to be as easy as that…” the girl croaked, as she slumped down onto her pillows. Tikki watched the girl’s eyes close slowly, and tugged the duvet up around her as best she could, smiling warmly.


	6. The School : Marinette

                “Ladybug! Thank you so much for saving me! Whatever can I do to repay you” Alya’s voice called as the heroine dropped to the floor with the girl in her arms.

                “All in a day’s work for a superhero! Please, no need to repay,” she said, setting the girl onto the ground.

                “Surely the hero would accept… a kiss?” Alya spoke, her tone dripping with lust. Marinette stood there as Alya leaned up, and moments later, their lips were locked together in the sweet embrace of passion. Hands drifted along sides and up into hair, as both girls eagerly explored one another as the kiss grew more needy, more heated. Alya pulled back, and gazed up at Marinette.

                “Alya… don’t stop,” Marinette purred, pressing forwards into the girl once again, pushing her body against the girls own, her hands running up the girl’s side, and cupping her chest. She had expected them to be firmer, with a lot less give than they did. They almost felt like a duvet, bundled up into a rough roll.

                “Marinette. I want you. Please, take me. Take me down to the paradise city, where the grass is green and the girls are pretty,” Alya said. Marinette’s brow furrowed in confusion.

                “What?” she managed.

 

                Marinette sat up in her bed, her phone’s alarm playing a random song from her playlist to wake her up. She had had her arms and legs curled around her duvet, and was faintly panting after her dream. She could only remember the most recent iteration, herself as Ladybug, and Alya… and… kissing… but she knew that this had been a running theme of her dreams all night. Herself and Alya. Alya kissing her. Her cuddling Alya. Closeness. Touching. The girl shook her head to try and clear the thoughts from it, but she could not escape it. With her cheeks flustered and her body sparking with desires, she hastily tossed her bedclothes into the wash basket, grabbed a towel, and rushed to the bathroom for an intense cold shower. Ten minutes later, she was sat at the little breakfast table, munching her way through a slice of toast with her favourite spread on it, when her mother walked in.

                “Morning Marinette! Ahh, you are a girl made after your father. He always did enjoy the taste of chocolate too. Oh, goodness!” she said, as Marinette began coughing and spluttering at her comment. Her mind was still very much on her dreams, as more of them were beginning to come back to her. Some of them had been… quite graphic.

                “Sorry Maman. I’ll clear that up. Just… thought of something funny,” she managed, wiping the spilt milk as best she could, her face as red as a cherry. As she cleaned up the rest of the mess, her phone began to buzz, and without even thinking, she picked it up and answered.

                “Allo?” the girl asked absentmindedly.

                “Hi, Marinette, it’s Adrien. Would you mind if we had a talk before school?” the boy asked. Marinette’s eyes widened, and she took a moment to compose herself.

                “That sounds like a good idea. I’ll see you in ten minutes,” she replied.

                “Who was that?” Sabine asked politely.

                “Oh, just Adrien. We’ve got some stuff to clear up, so I’m going to head into school now,” she said, wiping the rest of the mess up and tossing the paper towels into the bin. She grabbed her school bag and headed down to the bakery, as her mother stood there in a mixture of shock and surprise. Ten minutes later, Marinette was out amid the early morning sunlight.

                “Marinette!” Adrien called as the girl approached the school. Marinette waved to him, increasing her walk to a soft jog to get to him a little faster.

                “Hey Adrien. What’s up?” she asked, jovially. Adrien regarded her curiously for a moment, before shrugging.

                “Well, uh… I’ve been thinking about last night. You said that what you said to me was a confession of love. I feel like I didn’t take that seriously, and I apologise. I appreciate your feelings, Marinette, but, I’m afraid I’m in love with someone else,” he said, absolutely sincerely. Marinette stared at him for a few moments. “It’s… Ladybug,” he added. Marinette burst out laughing.

 

                “I’m sorry, ohh god, you have no idea, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to make it seem like I was laughing at you,” Marinette struggled between her breaths. Her laughter had lasted so long and gotten so loud that Adrien had hurried her into the school and to one of the lesser used corridors.

                “Well it sure doesn’t feel like it,” the boy said, a touch sulkily. Marinette had to stifle another giggle as she looked over at his pouting face.

                “Sorry,” she said again, “I’m in an odd mood,” she said.

                “What do you mean?” he asked. Marinette took a deep breath, and began explaining the whole thing.

                “Whoa…” Adrien breathed, once she was done.

                “Yep,” Marinette commented idly.

                “So Alya’s…”

                “Yep.”

                “And now you think you might be…”

                “Could well be.”

                “But Alya doesn’t know that…”

                “Not a clue.”

                “And you still don’t know if she even wants to speak to you again?” he finished. Marinette let out a little sigh, and nodded.

                “And I want to talk to her so badly because my head is spinning and I feel like I’m treading water in an ocean of panic,” she said, leaning back against the wall, hugging herself tightly. She had decided that adding the ‘Adrien loves Ladybug’ fact to her already messed up day would not do her any favours, and had chosen to simply ignore it.

                “Wow. I wish I knew what to say, Marinette,” the blonde said, as the girl glanced away from his gaze.

                “I don’t think anyone knows what to say at this point. Maybe I should just skip today and go help Papa at the bakery.”

                “Hey, don’t talk like that! You’re one of the bravest girls I know, just take a little time to focus yourself and you’ll be fine!” he said, smiling wide to try and cheer her up. The girl rolled her eyes, but smiled gently.

                “Thank you Adrien. You really are a good friend,” she said, chuckling at the irony of her statement. “Come on, we’ll be late to class if we hang around much longer,” she said, flashing him a smile. The two walked to their classroom, hoping to get there before Madam Bustier. Marinette took a deep breath, and stepped into the room.

                “ **Marinette!** ” Alya cried out, her voice higher pitch than normal. Marinette’s fear gripped her. _Oh crap, she’s angry with me! Why wouldn’t she be, I was a horrible person who ignored her feelings and cast her aside when she needed me the most oh my god I think I’m going to cry again_ she thought, grabbing at her shirt.

                “Stay calm, and take a deep breath,” Adrien whispered into her ear, and Marinette did, closing her eyes for a second to fill her lungs.

                “Good of you to turn up on time for a change, Mr Agreste, Ms Dupain-Cheng,” a voice said behind them, bright but full of thinly veiled sarcasm. Madamoiselle Bustier stood behind the two students, a smile on her face and her arms folded across her chest. As the two walked into the room, Adrien noticed Alya was sitting in his regular seat. He was about to ask her about it, but thought better of it when Marinette tugged on his shirt, shaking her head lightly.

 

                The bell rang and Alya was out of the door before Marinette could even talk to her. The entire lesson, she had been glancing at the girl, finding herself blushing more and more every time. Her mind was wandered more that lesson than it had ever done before, and it was getting her more and more flustered. She kept thinking back to sleepovers and game nights and hangouts, all the times that Alya always chose to be close to her, to have her back, despite how much it likely pained the brown haired girl to do so.

                “Marinette Dupain-Cheng!” a shrill voice called as she gathered up her books, planning to chase after Alya.

                “Uugh, what?” Marinette groaned, rolling her eyes as she turned to face the blonde bane of her existence.

                “Don’t think I didn’t notice your little plot! Swapping seats so you get to sit next to Adrikins! I won’t allow it! Next lesson you will sit somewhere else!” Chloe barked, as Marinette glared across at her. Whether it was the tiredness she still felt or the adrenaline tied in with her fear for Alya, or the raging hormones that were coursing through her, she would never know, but her next words certainly were fuelled by one of them.

                “Yeah? And what if I don’t? What’re you going to do about it? Try and get me suspended? Whimper and whine back to Daddy about how things didn’t go your way? You’re trash, Bourgeouis! Grow the hell up!” she snarled, pulling her back up onto her shoulder, storming out of the room, leaving the blonde fuming and the rest of the class staring in awe. Adrien quickly ran off after the girl.

                “Marinette’s got claws. That was so awesome!” Juleka commented to Rose as they strode past Chloe, whose face was pure red, and her hands were balled and shaking.

                “Come back here and say that again, Vampire! Sabrina! Come with me!” she snapped, lunging back to her desk to snatch the bag of her things that her lackey had gathered up.

                “Hey, Marinette, everything OK? That was a little… intense,” Adrien asked, as he managed to catch up to the girl who had been almost running through the school trying to find her friend.

                “No, Adrien, everything is not OK! In the last less than 24 hours I have confessed my love to a naive Disney princess of a boy, torn out my best friends heart and stamped on it, spent half the night running through Paris watching owls pick fights with bats, and seeing two people who I think stole a sofa set, come out to myself through sexy dreams that I cannot get out of my head, gave totally too much information about said dreams to said Disney princess boy, and had to deal with the Queen Bitch herself, so no, I am not OK, I am more than a little frazzled right now and I want to scream and cry and I want to hug Alya because I miss her so much Adrien,” Marinette said, aggressive and snappy at first, before degenerating into sobs as she walked away from him, pushing through the door into the locker room, with him hot on her heels.

                “Disney Princess?” he asked with a quick chuckle and a smirk, following the girl until she halted.

                “It’s just… everything is so mixed up now! She’s not being fair about this, I just want to… uugh! I want to scream, I want to, to, just, grab her and, and, and…” she began.

                “Calm down Marinette. Alya just needs a little time. I’m sure she’s also really scared right now, probably not thinking clearly,” he said, patting his friend on the shoulder. Marinette let out a faint whimper, fighting back her tears as she looked up at him.

                “Disney Princess…” she mumbled quietly. “I know that, but… it’s just so… so stupid! If she just stopped running and came to talk to me, we could clear all this up! I could… I could… tell her… that I’m… that I…l…”Marinette began, her body hitching with sobs as she struggled to get the words out. She began to cry in earnest, and Adrien pulled her in close, hugging her tightly.

                “There there Marinette. Come on, you need a few minutes breather. Let’s get you some fresh air,” he said, leading her out of the locker room. Marinette sniffed and sobbed, rubbing her eyes to clear some of the moisture.

                “I’m sorry Adrien. I can’t help it. I think I’m in love with her,” she mumbled. Adrien smiled, and pulled her in for a tight hug.

                “Then it’ll all work out in the end. Love unites us all!” he said with a grin.

                “Seriously, are you sure you don’t have a talking animal sidekick and a song about how you want to go out into the world and experience it for yourself?” Marinette said, giggling despite herself.

                “I definitely don’t have at least one of those things,” Adrien replied with a faux nervous glance, making the girl giggle again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Marinette's into Guns n Roses. She likes Jagged Stone, of course she's into rock!


	7. Flight : Marinette

                The next lesson, Marinette was separate from most of the class. It was Textile study, which was boring for her, but mandatory to study it at university. She liked the teacher though, he was old, and sometimes a little slow, but he knew his stitching better than any seamstress in the city. She was putting the finish touches to her latest project, a long blue and brown costume from a cartoon that she and Alya watched regularly. It was planned as a surprise for the girl’s birthday. Everything was going well until her akuma alert app on her phone went off. She quickly feigned a bad stomach, and dashed off, transforming into Ladybug and zipping up into the rooftops.

                “I do not have time for this! Why today of all days? Oh god please don’t be Lady Wifi, I don’t think I could cope if Alya got Akumatised again. I swear, Hawkmoth, if you’ve hurt my friend, I am going to hunt you down and cut off your… oh,” she said to herself, halting when she saw the akuma stalking through the streets, leaving a curious path of letter paper and envelopes in its wake.

                “Well, we know we’re on the write lines now, eh Bugaboo?” Chat Noir said, as he dropped down onto the roof from above. Ladybug rolled her eyes, and sighed.

                “We need to stop him before he turns all of Paris into an Origami display,” she muttered, half-heartedly. The two heroes swung and vaulted into action, tackling the akuma and engaging with it.

                “Something the matter, Princess? You seem a little… not all here,” Chat Noir said as he and Ladybug batted back the swarms of winged paperclips that assaulted them. Their target, named Ecritoire, seemed to be the owner of a stationery store who had been targeted by a vandal who had smashed the windows of his shop.

                “It’s… complicated. Right now, I just want to get this guy de-akumatised and get back to my life…” she replied, a little harsher than she intended. Chat looked a bit sad, but said nothing to press the matter. The two split, attacking the monster from either side, but the akuma swatted them back with what looked like a giant stapler. He then pointed the device at Ladybug, sending dozens of thick, heavy metal staples towards her. Ladybug was forced to cartwheel away from an attack, into a nearby alley.

                “Eeee! Ladybug!” Alya squeaked, as Marinette began softly cursing whatever gods might have been watching over her. _Tiny, bobble headed gods that take great pleasure in my awkwardness_ she thought, dusting herself off.

                “Alya! I mean, uh… Ladyblogger! W-what are you doing here? Though, I suppose that’s a bit of a silly question,” she said, as Alya looked up at her, grinning widely.

                _Oh my god her smile is so adorable. I have **so** fallen for this girl…_ she thought.

                “I got the alert and came as quick as I could,” Alya began, continuing to talk as Marinette continued her panic, trying to figure out what she was going to say to her friend.

                “Are you OK?” she asked her, clamping her hands onto Alya’s shoulders tightly. _That is the best move I have? I am absolutely doomed. Hey, why not garble incoherently and flail, it worked sooo well with Adrien…_ she thought. She found herself staring into Alya’s eyes, and, while the panic flooded around her, she seemed to find an island of calm, untouched by the tumultuous waters. Alya’s eyes were simply beautiful, pure and dazzling, even in the gloomy afternoon. Alya seemed to notice her stares, and blushed, glancing away and mumbling quietly.

                “Please, stay somewhere safe, somewhere hidden. I’ll come and check up on you if we manage to beat him. Please… don’t go anywhere,” Marinette, as Ladybug, said to the girl, giving her shoulders a little squeeze. Alya nodded, unable to fix her gaze. As she whisked herself back up to the rooftops, she heard the girl whisper “good luck”, and her heart soared. _I am going to put this guy into the ground!_ Marinette thought, as she began spinning her yoyo with fierce intent.

 

                “You were amazing! Absolutely incredible, the way you juggled those giant elastic band balls! Be still my beating heart!” Alya said, laughing as she smiled at the hero. Marinette regarded her up and down, painfully aware of the beeping that would soon become a shrill warning in her ears.

                “Is something the matter? Oh wow, I can’t believe I’m going to say it like this, but, you seem a little… not all here,” the masked girl asked, echoing Chat’s sentiment to her earlier. The reporter girl shook her head gently, putting on a weak smile.

                “Sorry. It’s a personal thing, I’m sure you’ve got better things to do,” she said. Marinette’s heart twinged once again.

                “Nono, I’ve got nothing! I mean, I **do** have an, an, alter ego, but, i-if you want to talk, then we can talk…” she began, trying to struggle her way through the words. The adrenaline of the fight, the power of the moment, had all but faded from her, and, despite still being bound to the costume and the powers, she felt like nothing but a regular girl once again. The beeping from her earrings made her wince, and she let out a soft sigh, adding, “…later. If you want to?”

                “Yes! I mean… yes! I’d love to I definitely will! Where, when, any time, any place!” Alya shrieked, almost bouncing up and down on the spot as she grinned from ear to ear. Marinette let out a gentle giggle, seeing her friends enthusiasm about things made her giddy with glee.

                “I’ll come and get you around 8pm. Make sure you have your window open,” she replied, flashing the girl what she hoped was a teasing smile and a seductive wink, whirling her yoyo up and into the rooftops, swooshing up with it shortly after. She found her way to a safe place to hide, and waited out the detransformation.

                “Marinette! You did it, you talked to Alya!” Tikki exclaimed as she hovered in place in front of the girl, who was even now routing through her bag for a little box of cookies.

                “I don’t know if that really counts. I mean, she’s not talking to **me** , she’s talking to Ladybug…” Marinette said, hanging her head.

                “Well… she could always… not be,” Tikki said, a sly smile on her face.

                “What?”

                “Marinette, the holders of the Miraculous have to keep their identity a secret. But if it benefits them to reveal it, they can, if the situation is right. Or if they get discovered,” the little spirit said, keeping a firm eye on Marinette.

                “So… you’re saying… if Alya caught me out… then I co, uh I would be obliged to reveal my identity. For safety. Of everyone involved. And it would be OK,” Marinette replied carefully, offering the tiny creature a cookie. Tikki nodded, nibbling on the treat happily.

                “Exaftly! Iff a unwibben ruuu!” she said, a mouth full of crumbs. She swallowed hurriedly. “An unwritten rule. A holder can reveal their identity if it is of benefit to the mission and the holder. Preventing people from feeling angry and hurt would definitely mean less chance of an akuma attack,” Tikki said, smirking up at the girl.

                “I love the way you think!” Marinette said, scooping the little creature up, nuzzling her, making Tikki giggle repeatedly.


	8. Spots Off : Marinette

                “Wouldn’t want to rob you of your grand entrance,” Alya said, after Ladybug had entered the room. Ladybug smiled brightly at the girl, dropping onto the bed in her usual place. It felt surreal to her, that she was doing something she had done with the girl dozens, hundreds of times, but it was so different.

                “How gracious! Thank you very much,” she said with a soft giggle, which sent blushes streaking across Alya’s cheeks. The girl stammered her question at the superhero, and Ladybug brushed a finger against her cheek as she thought.

                “You seemed like you needed someone to talk to. I **was** planning on whisking you up into the rooftops, but I expect you aren’t in the mood,” she said. Alya nodded, her peppy demeanour vanishing as her shoulders sagged.

                “I definitely need some grounding right now. But, why even bother, I’m just some girl? Why stick around for my dumb problems?” she said, pulling her heels up onto the chair, hugging them against her body. Marinette had to fight back the urge to hug the girl there and then, she looked absolutely distraught.

                “You’re not ‘Some girl’! I, I mean, you’re the Ladyblogger. You’re the person I talk to the most as Ladybug, other than Chat, and he probably pesters me about my identity more than you do. I consider you a friend, you know,” she said, a little disappointed that Alya thought of their relationship in strictly business terms.

                “H-hey! I stopped doing that… mostly. I figured out you were around the same age as me and I actually started thinking about what a snoop in my life would be like. If I were a super hero, I’d not want anyone trying to expose my identity…” she replied. Ladybug smiled again, noting the girls blush deepen.

                “I did notice you were pulling attention away from the unmasking a lot. Thank you,” she said. They sat in silence for a little while, before the girl took a deep breath in.

                “Can I ask you some questions? Like, off the record, I’m not gunna put any of this on the site,” she said, looking nervous. The masked girl considered this for a short while, before grinning.

                “OK! But only if I get to ask you one for each one you ask me,” she replied. Alya nodded with a faint smile, her feet slowly slipping off the seat and back to the floor.

                “Yes! Oh my gosh, this is so cool! SO, like, are you super strong when not in Ladybug mode too? Like, how far do the powers go?” Alya asked, her eyes lighting up as she gazed at her idol.

                “Well, it’s mostly the powers boosting me, but I have noticed I’m getting stronger and faster in my normal life. I guess routinely saving Paris is a pretty good workout,” she replied with a giggle. “My turn… what’s gotten you so down?” she asked. Alya groaned, and span around in the chair, something she did whenever she had suggested something she vastly disapproved of. Or mentioned Chloe or Adrien at all.

                “Uugh, fiiiine, it’s just stupid and boring though! I had a crush, and I got shot down and got my heart stepped on, and I’ve probably lost my best friend to boot,” she said, anger present in her tone, but it was clear that it was not directed at Ladybug herself.

                “What happened?”

                “My friend has a crush on someone else. Me being the idiot that I am, I offered to help them ask their crush out. I thought I could handle it, but I messed up badly, and accidently told her how I felt instead,” she said. The girl seemed to tense a little once she realised she hadn’t been so careful with her pronoun usage, so Ladybug leaned forwards a little, opening her mouth to say something of comfort. “Ah! I get to ask another one now!” Alya hastily said, holding up a finger. Ladybug rolled her eyes, but nodded.

                “Fine! Ask away,” the masked girl said, crossing her arms in mock indignation.

 

                It took a painfully long amount of time for Alya to form her question. She ummed and ahhed until she settled on something, fixing her heroine with a deep stare. “How do you do it? How do you go against those superpowered monsters every day without getting scared? How did you get so brave, so fearless?” she asked. Ladybug took a deep breath, clasping her hands together.

                “I… I lie to myself. I lie a LOT. About more things than you might think…” she said, her eyes half closed as she thought about everything that had happened in the last day. She knew now that it was no accident that she had become happy with the idea of being in love with a girl in such a short amount of time, and she was not going to let lies ruin things now.

                “I get that. I’m something of an expert when it comes to lying,” Alya said with a sigh. Ladybug drew in a little closer, resting a hand on the girl’s knee.

                “The truth may sometimes carry with it more risk, more pain and more problems, but it ultimately leads to a better result. Lies can be useful to shield us, but it we hide behind our shields all the time, we’ll never be able to move forwards,” she said, glancing up at Alya. Despite herself, she felt her own blushes growing, and she hoped and prayed that the mask hid at least some of it. The two girls continued their conversation for a little while, as Alya began to clarify what happened between herself and Marinette. Ladybug, to her credit, answered questions about her heroic activities, and even a few questions about herself. Eventually, the conversation was brought back to the split between Alya and Marinette.

                “You need to talk to her, Alya. I’m sure she’s just as confused and afraid as you are, perhaps even more so,” Ladybug said, as Alya looked through the messages on her phone. “I can certainly imagine her wondering if she could have handled the situation better, or wondering if she should have followed you, visited you. She probably hates herself for letting you be so alone through it all, for… for letting you suffer without a friend to go to,” the masked girl said, her voice waivering ever so slightly.

                “I guess…” Alya mumbled. Her gaze was fixed on the phone, and tears were forming in her eyes. Ladybug moved a little closer, tentatively touching her shoulder.

                “Alya?” Ladybug whispered gently.

                “Ladybug… I don’t know what to do. I want to make this right, but… but how do I just… go back to pretending like I don’t love her, that every time she does that cute little laugh or flicks her hair back just so, I don’t want to pull her in close or kiss her or tell her that she brings a beautiful, warm light into my life. How the heck are you supposed to be friends with someone when you feel like that?” she said, looking the hero dead in the eyes. The masked girl blushed brightly, looking around nervously.

                “W-well… M-maybe that’s for, uh, t-the two of you to d-discuss?” Ladybug stammered, blushing even brighter behind her mask. She wanted to scream, she wanted to tell Alya there and then, but she knew thanks to Tikki’s advice that she would need the right scenario. Luck, as always, was on her side though.

                “Oh god, Ladybug, I’m sorry, I wasn’t, that wasn’t questioned at you, I was just kinda snapping at myself. I do that a lot, I’m really sorry. You’ve been so helpful tonight, really, I can’t thank you enough,” Alya said, scrambling to her feet. “I need to ask for one last favour though. I can’t let this mess crash over into another day. I need to speak to Mari, face to face, tonight. Would you take me to her place?” the girl asked. Ladybug grinned widely, and nodded.

                “Yes! Absolutely! That’s perfect!” she said, with glee.

 

                A little while later, the two girls were soaring through the air, heading towards the Dupain bakery. Alya’s arms around Ladybug’s neck were making both girls blush brightly. They landed on the little terrace with barely a sound other than the whipping noise of her yoyo retracting, and Alya went straight for the little key Marinette kept in a plant pot. _Sure Alya, sneak in after curfew. Not ‘slump back in after a night of patrolling the city as a super hero_ she thought as she watched the girl unlock the door.

                “Um… Ladybug. If… is something goes badly tonight, would you…” Alya began.

                “Nothing’s going to go badly! Everything will be fine! You said that you were too critical of yourself, so have a little confidence, a little positivity!” she replied, holding her thumb up for the girl.

                “This isn’t quite that. It’s just… um… if the girl who has been attempting to grind Adrien Agrste’s pelvis for close to three years **somehow** doesn’t want to give up her long time crush for a nerdy girl with a massive inferiority complex, then.. I was wondering if… if a girl like me might... have a chance with… someone… like… you?” she asked. The girl seemed already prepared for a rejection, and it broke Marinette’s heart to see her like that.

                “Alya… I… wow,” she mumbled, blush raising once again. “Alya, I can’t date anyone. It would be too difficult, with the superhero stuff and everything. B-but, i-if it could be anyone… I think you have more of a chance than anyone else,” she finished, cheeks bright red. Alya’s blush mirrored her own, and the two of them locked eyes with one another. For all of two seconds, before they both burst into fits of giggles.

                “Oh wow! You’re too sweet, LB, really! Don’t think I won’t remember that,” Alya said with a smirk, as Ladybug rolled her eyes.

                “Just keep what I said in mind, OK. The next few hours are going to be more than a little bit crazy,” she replied, her expression becoming a little more serious. Alya nodded, and clicked the little key in the lock on the door. The girl paced slowly into the room, and over to the bed.

                “What the… She’s not here?” Alya squeaked, as she looked over the empty bed. She spun to face Ladybug, who was lingering just inside the door. “Ladybug, she’s not here!” she exclaimed, running over to the girl in a mild panic.

                “Alya! Alya, please calm down. Jeez, I really didn’t think this through. This is what I get for running with the first idea that comes into my head. I guess there’s no avoiding it,” the tightly dressed girl said, somewhat theatrically.

                “Ladybug? I don’t understand,” Alya said, looking up slightly into the girl’s eyes.

                “You will in a moment. Tikki, Spots off,” she said, and a flash of pink light enveloped her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand we're all caught up on Marinette's side of things!


	9. The Reveal

                Alya watched, wide eyed, as a fierce pink light surrounded the superhero. The costume fizzled and faded as the light rose from her feet upwards. The light faded, and Alya stood, unblinking, staring at Marinette.

                “Heh… Surprise…” Marinette mumbled weakly, giving a nervous wave. The brown haired girl took a step or two backwards, dropping down onto Marinette’s fainting couch, which let out a harsh squeak as the legs shifted against her floor.

                “It’s… you?” she mumbled, looking up at the girl, then around the room. “I don’t understand,” she said quietly.

                “Alya, it’s me! I’m Ladybug. I have been since the beginning,” Marinette said, a nervous smile spreading across her lips. She approached Alya, who still seemed to be in shock.

                “It was always you…” Alya mumbled quietly. “Why?” she croaked, her hands shaking as she moved them up to her glasses, which were threatening to slide off her nose.

                “I had to think of something. Some way to show you that what I have to say is coming from sincerity, from my heart. I had to show you I trusted you, wholly, absolutely. You gave me your biggest secret, and it nearly destroyed you, destroyed **us**. I’m hoping that my biggest secret might go some way to… fixing what was almost broken,” Marinette said, hands over her heart as Alya glanced up to her. Marinette reached forwards, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder. Alya flinched away from her.

                “It was you all along…” she said again, standing and fixing the girl with a stare filled with confusion and anger. “You really are something else, Marinette!” she snapped.

                “Wh-what?” the dark haired girl stammered, taking a step backwards. Things were not going how she had seen this go at all.

                “How convenient for you! You get to use your super hero alter ego to get in good with me again! What a luxury you have, tricking your friends into treating you nicely!” Alya said, her voice raising in volume.

                “Alya! It’s not like that!” Marinette insisted, her heart lurching in her chest .

                “You tricked me! Tricked me into thinking I had a chance! You are the cruellest person I know!” Alya snapped back, tears rolling down her cheeks.

                “No! Alya, I would never! Alya, I’m… I’ve not… I meant it all! Alya, hearing your words, hearing how you feel about me, it’s made me realise things about myself. Things I had tried to hide, things I was scared to admit!” Marinette replied, her own tears threatening to fall.

                “No! Don’t you dare! Don’t you even dare try to tell me you’re magically in love with me now! Don’t try to brush away months of agony, months of torment as I watched you pine over that... that… damn Adrien…” she said, balling her fists angrily.

                “Th-that’s not fair! Alya, I’ve had the wool over my eyes for so long, today has been a revelation for me! Why do you think I feuded so long with Chloe? The reason she hates me was because when we first met I told her she was too pretty and slapped her on the nose! Why do you think I watch the female models during fashion week so religiously but completely skip the males? Alya, I was pushing this down so hard, and for so long, that I’d managed to convince myself that I was strai-”

                “Shut up! Stop that! This isn’t fair, it’s not fair! I, I, I have to go! I have to leave, I need to not be here!” Alya snapped, turning to stomp towards the girl’s door room. Marinette’s eyes widened, and she lunged forwards, skipping past the girl to land, arms wide, on top of the door. She winced in pain, but pulled herself back onto her knees. Beneath them, movements could be heard; Marinette’s parents, roused from their sleep.

                “I’m not letting you run off into the night again! Alya, I promise you, I am not lying! What can I do to prove it to you, tell me!” Marinette said, as her tears began to fall. “I’m begging you! Anything, I’ll do anything!” she sobbed. Alya looked down at her, shoulders hitching and eyes red with tears.

                “Drop dead, Marinette,” she hissed, turning and moving towards the window. She began to walk towards it, as Marinette’s sobs grew as she let out a heartfelt wail.

                “Please don’t go, I need you!” Marinette managed through her ragged gasps for air, crying ugly, powerful tears that shook her body and slurred her words. Alya’s heart twisted as she fought against every emotion that churned inside her.

                “I just… I…” she managed, her hands flexing and balling as she struggled through it. “Marinette… Arrrrgh, what is even up with this! **What the actual hell!** ” she yelled, clutching her head.

                “A-alya? Are you… OK?” Marinette mumbled through her tears.

                “NO! I DON’T KNOW! I don’t know anything anymore! I’m scared and I don’t know what to do and I don’t know where to go and my whole world has shattered and I just want to hug my best friend because she’s right there crying in front of me but I can’t because… because… because you lied to me! You kept that secret for so long! You used your power to manipulate me!”

                “I… was… scared… that… you… would… never… talk… to… me!” Marinette managed between her breaths, trying to calm herself as her mental stability slowly peeled away from her. Alya took a deep breath, turning away from the window.

                “Marinette, I…” she began, as she opened her eyes. They widened instantly, as the girl who was on her hands and knees suddenly rose upwards and tilted to the side, and a red faced, anger ridden giant French baker man emerged into the room.

                “BOTH OF YOU! DOWNSTAIRS! NOW!” he roared.

 

                The two girls sat next to one another, their heads hanging low. They had both shuffled into the living room of the Dupain-Chengs, where Sabine was waiting with mugs of what turned out to be cocoa. Tom stalked the room behind them, pacing this way and that, as his wife shot him the occasional worried glance. Eventually, he stopped, pinching the bridge of his nose.

                “Alya, your mother is worried sick. You disappear two nights in a row, and you tell her nothing…” he said, his voice quiet, but it was the silence of a dormant volcano.

                “sorry,” Alya struggled, fighting back more tears.

                “It’s my fault,” Marinette struggled. She was still crying quite badly, her whole body was shaking. “Papa, Maman, it was all my fault!”

                “Wait your turn Marinette. I am getting to you,” the man rumbled, which only made the girl sob even more. Despite herself, Alya reached down and rested a hand upon Marinette’s knee, giving it a gentle squeeze.

                “She will be here tomorrow to pick you up. I expect both of you to give her an apology worth of royalty!” Tom rumbled on. “What the hell is going on with you two!” he snapped, his arms thrust up into the air. They slapped back down to his sides when he caught a glance of the glare Sabine was giving him.

                “What your father is saying is that we are both very concerned for you two. It is not our place to pry into your private affairs, Marinette, but when they become public we cannot ignore them,” Sabine said, leaning forwards to cup her daughter’s tear sodden cheek with her palm. Marinette tilted her head upwards, fighting and failing miserably to hold back yet more sobs.

                “I’m sorry!” she exclaimed, as she was pulled into a tight hug by her mother. Alya looked away, shaking visibly. She felt a soft hand rest on her shoulder, and she turned to see Sabine looking across at her warmly.

                “I am sorry for my daughter’s foolishness. Whatever has occurred between you two, please, try and see through to settling your differences. She has never formed a friendship as close as the one she has with you. She needs your influence, so I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive her,” the tiny woman said. Alya sniffed, rubbing her eyes, nodding faintly. Internally, however, her heart was pounding, unable to get the woman’s piercing greyblue eyes off her mind. Her words travelled deep into Alya’s mind, stirring her memories.

                “Both of you get to bed. Marinette, I will discuss your punishments tomorrow morning. I don’t want to hear another peep out of either of you tonight, is that understood?” Tom said, moving to Sabine’s side. The girls nodded, and slowly made their way back up to Marinette’s room. Once the door was closed, the man let out a loud sigh, and slumped back to the sofa.

                “You played the part wonderfully, dear,” Sabine said with a wry smile as she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek.

                “It was tough. I hate yelling at my daughter like that. I wanted to hug her!” he replied, wiping a tear from his eyes.

                “Well, you performed admirably. Hopefully, she will fix things with her girlfriend, and we can put this all behind us,” Sabine said, sitting beside him on the sofa. Within minutes, both of them were asleep, resting against one another.

 

                Alya dropped onto the armoire, her eyes locked onto the patterned wood flooring. Her mind was utterly overwhelmed, she kept trying to think about everything, but every time she did, she hit a wall, and just ended up counting the slats on the floor, or seeking out repeating patterns in them.

                “Hey, Marinette…” Alya mumbled, as the girl, who was still red faced from her tears, placed a bundle of blankets next to her. “I, uh…” she began, but again her mind was failing her. “’m sorry. For… for saying what I did,” she managed, not able to look up at the girl. Marinette mumbled something, but her ragged sniffing betrayed how close she was to crying again. She took in a rough gasp of air, trying to compose herself.

                “P-p-please,” she began, and Alya could tell instantly that the girl was still completely torn up over the ordeal, perhaps even more than she was. She was glancing over to what looked like a plush toy, which was moving around nervously.

                “I am too tired and too emotionally drained to be freaked out by this…” Alya mumbled, as the creature took to the air and floated to Marinette.

                “Hello Miss Cesaire. My name is Tikki. I am a Kwami. I am…” she began, but Alya held up her hand.

                “You’re a cute animal companion thing to a magical girl. Please don’t make it any more complicated than that,” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. Marinette nodded weakly, fiddling with her shirt idly.

                “U-um, a-about that,” Marinette began, as Alya came to a decision she had been fighting against for a little while.

                “Marinette, I’m not going to tell anyone your secret. I’m not that heartless. We’re… I think we’re going to be OK, I just… I need some time. I need to think about this, about… about everything,” she said. Marinette nodded weakly again, looking unsure of herself. “Girl, you look like a puppy that just got smacked by its owner for the first time. Come here, sit down,” Alya said, patting the armoire next to her. Marinette sat beside the girl, gasping as she rested an arm around her. “Hey, Marinette… I think we’re going to be OK,” she whispered, rubbing the girl’s back softly. Marinette let out a gentle whimper, leaning against Alya as she was rubbed.

                “Thank you,” she whispered, as the brown haired girl continued her reassuring ministrations.

                _Maybe you should be thanking Sabine…_ Alya thought, saying nothing. The womans words echoed in her mind, resonating with her. The two girls sat together for a few minutes, before Alya shifted a little, her rubbing slowly ceasing as she gently pulled away from the girl.

                “Alya?” Marinette asked, looking over at the girl, whose eyes were locked onto the floor.

                “We need to address this…” the girl mumbled quietly. “I just… I can’t just snap back to the way things were. Mari… I really felt like you had… you used Ladybug to take advantage of me. I know you had the best intentions, but in the moment, it… it really hurt,” she said quietly, her tone gentle.

                “I… I understand why you feel that way. I really didn’t mean to, I just wanted to talk to you. Alya, when you left, when you ran off into the night, it felt like the floor had opened up beneath me and I was falling. I was so scared that I might lose you… you’re my best friend, Alya,” Marinette replied, eyes filling with tears once again.

                “Oookay, OK, you’re very emotionally fragile right now. I think we both need to get some sleep, but we need to talk about this in the morning. OK?” Alya said, trying to catch the girl’s eye. Marinette turned her head slightly, not wishing the girl to see her so close to tears once again.

                “OK…” she mumbled in response. Alya nodded her head, and began to prepare her blankets for sleep, as Marinette made her way up to her bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that marks the end of part 1! I hope you've been enjoying the fic this far! It's been a blast to write and I have BIG plans for where this fic is going! I will be on hiatus for a few weeks now, but I will (hopefully) be back to regular posting in mid March!


	10. New Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Act Two! Alya and Marinette have got a lot still to talk about, but we've passed the storm, and we're totally in the calm. Absolutely. Definitely. Certainly no strange plot twists and emotional rollercoasters due in the coming chapters. >_>
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone for their support so far, it's really heartwarming to see your comments. I hope I don't disappoint you with the new chapters!

                Hot death rained on Alya from above. She looked around herself, but all she could see was sand. Not the pretty, golden sand of the Sahara, the kind you saw in pictures or films. This was a long, wide, flat plane of grubby red sand, with plants that appeared dead cropping out just enough for their branches to scratch at her bare shins. There was no sun in the sky, which was hued yellow, but it was there, searing at her skin and making her sweat profusely.

                “Hello? Is there anyone out there?” she called out, but her voice barely carried in the empty wastes. She looked down as she walked on, trying to make sense of everything. She was wearing the costume of Lady Wifi, but, there was something different about it. It was not the second skin it had been when she had transformed; it was a pair of trousers, which were torn to shreds below the knee, and a top, which had four large gouges ripped from it. The mask was also missing from her ensemble, and the black clothes were only making her situation worse, but she somehow couldn’t bring herself to remove them. She walked on, instinctively knowing that what she was seeking was in the direction she walked.

                Hours, days drifted past. Still she kept walking on. Logic told her that she should be dead, that her body would have broken down mere days into the trip, without food or water to sustain it, but logic seemed not to hold sway over this place. She walked on. Above her, the sky had morphed into a looming face, black save for green glowing eyes and white teeth, with sharp fangs. She walked on. Black butterflies erupted from a crevasse in the sand, thousands of them, assaulting her as she tried to hold her ground. Their wings sharp, their movements harsh, tearing at her clothes and her exposed skin, making her bleed. She walked on. Her muscles ached, her body screamed for the release of death, every step seemed like a labour befitting the ancient heroes of Greece, but Alya **knew** that she had to keep going, that she had to get to her destination. It would make everything worth it, every pain, every twinge, every ounce of sweat, and every drop of blood.

                “She won’t accept you, you know, not in the long run. The moment he realises his mistake, he will want her. She will return to him, and you will be back here again,” a mocking voice spoke from every direction. Alya’s eyes widened, and she span around, trying to find the source of the voice.

                “Shut up! I don’t care! She needs me, she needs help. I don’t care if I am left alone here afterwards, I don’t care if she betrays me for him. She is more important than I am…” she snapped, balling her fists.

                “And what about me? I could steal her from you at any moment. You are nothing, and I am her hero,” the face in the sky said, with a playful lilt to it. “I’d play with her for a bit, but it wouldn’t be forever. How could it? But it would still mean more than anything you could offer her…”

                “Stop it! Please! I know what I am, I know what it would mean for me to be the one…” she said, her resolve breaking a little.

                “Then why do you still pursue her? Why, after everything that has been, and what could be, do you still travel this path?” A voice, her voice, spoke right behind her. She span, and saw herself, her normal, everyday self, glaring back at her from behind the mask of Lady Wifi.

                “B-Because I’m her friend! I want her to be safe, to be happy!” Alya replied, taking a step back as her masked counterpart stepped closer.

                “Lies! Why do you continue?”

                “It’s… it’s all I’ve ever known…” Alya mumbled.

                “Lies! Do not try to deceive yourself. I am you and you are me, we are the same. Why. Do you. Continue?”

                “Because I love her! Because I am still hopelessly, colossally, enduringly in love with her. I cannot think of her as anything other than the most important thing in my life!” she shouted, falling to her knees, sobbing. She felt a hand cup her cheek gently.

                “Wonderful. You have not yet lost the spark. It is time for me to save you from all this,” her masked version replied, leaning down to press her lips to the girl’s own. She pulled back to reveal a large metallic casket, black with red spots. Alya instinctively knew that what she sought was within it. She approached it, and opened the lid. Alya awoke with a start, to a room still filled with blackness, her heart pounding against her chest. Her hands were shaking and her body was coated with a sheen of sweat. Blinking in the gloom, she shuddered as vague memories from her dream flared up before fading, and she pulled herself to her feet, seeking the solace of a splash of cold water to the face, as one lasting image, Ladybug’s tattered and torn suit resting on Marinette’s beaten and bloodied body, lingered in her mind.

 

                The sun rose slowly over the rooftops of Paris, painting the city a gorgeous orange haze. As a bakery, the Dupain-Cheng household was a family of early risers, but Marinette was surprised to find Alya awake and sat up, scrolling down her phone with idle taps.

                “Alya?” Marinette whispered groggily as she pulled herself to the edge of her bed.

                “Morning Marinette. Just doing a few things on the Ladyblog. Apparently, someone guys who work for a late night removal company caught footage of Ladybug carrying someone last night, despite no reported Akuma sightings that evening. I’m just killing a few rumors, dousing a few fires, that sort of thing,” she said, smiling weakly. “Normally, I’d be all over something like this, but, well, I know the scoop, and… I’m not too keen on the truth becoming known,” she said, as Marinette rubbed her eyes.

                “I know how that feels…” Marinette said quietly. The two girls looked at one another, and both mumbled ‘sorry’ at the same time, only to both begin giggling lightly.

                “Great minds, eh?” Alya said with a weak smile. Marinette nodded her head, and began to climb down the ladder to floor level. Her foot missed the third rung, and she began to topple backwards, letting out a shriek. By the time she had managed to grab hold of the handrails and steady herself, Alya had already lunged across the room, and was prepared to catch the girl if she fell. Upon realising Marinette would not fall, she stopped, but her socks became frictionless on the laminate flooring, and she skidded to the bed, her face embedding itself in the small of Marinette’s back.

                “Oh gosh! Are you OK?” Marinette asked, turning to face her friend.

                “I could ask the same of you, honestly girl, how does the most accident prone person on the planet have a bed that is up a ladder?” Alya replied, smirking faintly.

                _You just pressed yourself into her butt. How did it feel?_ the looming voice in the back of her mind said to her, and her smirk quickly vanished as her cheeks began to erupt in redness. She hastily pulled back from the girl, stumbling backwards.

                “I like to live dangerously?” Marinette replied, descending to the floor with a cautious step. She brushed herself down, and stood there awkwardly as Alya glanced away. Both girls stood in awkward silence.

                “Well…”

                “So…”

                They both halted, waiting another painfully long length of seconds before Marinette coughed faintly.

                “I, uh, I should… take a shower. I probably look terrible right now,” she mumbled, running her hand over her tangled and listless hair.

                “I could probably use the same…” Alya said, looking down at her sock covered feet.

                “I-if you want to use it first, go ahead,” Marinette replied, taking a step back from the door, as if her proximity were somehow affecting Alya’s ability to use it. Alya closed her eyes, looking briefly like she was in pain.

                “Marinette, this isn’t going to work. We’re supposed to be best friends, but you’re tiptoeing around me like I’m made of glass,” she said, looking up at the girl.

                “Sorry! I just, I don’t know what… I mean, if… I mean, I don’t know how… we… are,” she said, shifting nervously from foot to foot as Alya stood back up, turning to face her.

                _You’re going to mess this up, you know. Let me help_ the voice within her mind spoke, with the hint of a giggle. Alya shivered mentally, forcing herself to focus on Marinette’s words.

                “I… you’re right. We should really talk about this, honestly,” she said. Moments later, her stomach rumbled loudly.

                “After breakfast?” Marinette said with a hopeful smile. Alya nodded her head.

                “After breakfast and a shower,” she replied.

 

                Fifteen minutes later, Alya was freshly washed and dried, and sat in the little kitchen area of the Dupain-Cheng house. She had engaged in some small talk with Sabine, and had offered to help with the preparation of breakfast, but the woman assured her that she was the guest, so she sat peeling and coring an apple, waiting for Marinette to be done in the shower.

                “Sorry that took so long, Tikki… tikkkiii tickets tickets for Jagged Stone’s concert went on sale and I was trying to get some. But, I wasn’t able to, oh well, guess I can’t go anyway because I’m probably grounded, at least I didn’t waste my money or anything ahahaha,” Marinette said, hastily concocting the strange tale when she noticed that her mother was also present. Alya rolled her eyes at the girl.

                _She sucks at lying. Like, really badly sucks at it. Like she would mess up any lie she makes up cough cough hint hint she wasn’t lying to you, idiot_ the voice spoke, as Marinette prepared her toast.

                “Can we please not have a repeat of yesterday, Marinette. I would appreciate if you don’t spray half chewed toast across the counter,” Sabine said idly, causing the dark haired girl to blush.

                “Mama! It was one time! I choked, I could’ve died you know!” Marinette said with a pout, as Alya let out a little giggle. They enjoyed breakfast together, and then hung out in the living room with the TV on in the background. An air of normality began to settle over them both, which made things a lot less tense. Alya asked if the concert was real, and Marinette confirmed, saying that tickets weren’t yet on sale.

                “Maybe we should try and get some. I mean, if we’re not still busted for our various… deeds,” Alya said with a chuckle. Marinette nodded.

                “Definitely, it’s a date!” she said. Moments later, she realised what she had said, and let out a squeak.

                “Chill, girl, it’s fine! Actually… a date sounds… nice. Marinette, I still feel sour about the last few days, but… but it’s not worth losing you over. Your friendship, your a-affection, it’s so much more important to me than some dumb little feud,” Alya said, resting on the arm of the sofa. She was trying to pick her words carefully so as not to assume anything. “And, if… if you were willing to, then… maybe we could… I mean, if that’s,” she continued, stumbling over her words.

                _Uugh, you suck so hard! A child could do this better than you. You have less game than either of your sisters. That’s it, I’m giving you a little push_ the voice, her voice, and a mockery of her voice at the same time, spoke. Alya again pushed it aside, dismissing it as her own self depreciation. Meanwhile, Marinette had stopped what she was doing and was mid tackle on the girl. The two fell onto the sofa, with Marinette hugging around Alya’s neck, holding her close.

                “Alyaaaa!!!” she exclaimed, a bright smile on her face. “A concert date with you sounds wonderful! Aaaahhhh!! A date with Alya!” she said, giggling happily as she nuzzled in against the girl. Alya wrapped her arms around Marinette, a smile breaking over her face.

                “If it’s loud noises you want, we could always return to your bedroom,” Alya said, catching the girl’s eye and whispering in her ear. Alya was left to wonder in a mild panic where that sudden flirtiness and confidence had come from, and why the voice in her head was chuckling to itself, as Marinette giggled, blushing brightly.


	11. Mother Knows Best

                “I don’t understand, Marlena said she would be here at ten. She’s never usually late,” Tom said, glancing at the clock in the living room. Alya’s mother was overdue by twenty minutes, and it had everyone on edge.

                “We interrupt this broadcast to bring you breaking news. An Akuma has been sighted near the Grand Paris hotel. Please remain indoors if possible, and avoid the hotel. A police cordon is being set up from…” the newscaster on the TV began, until Alya paused the broadcast.

                “That’s why she’s late. She’s been caught up in the akuma attack, I’ve gotta go there!” she said, clutching the remote tightly.

                “Absolutely not. We’re looking after you, I would never forgive myself if something happened to you,” the male rumbled, looking down at Alya. The girl pouted, taking in a deep breath to begin to defend herself, when Marinette took hold of her other hand.

                “Alya, come on, let’s go upstairs. Maybe you can try and get hold of her phone, or call someone at the hotel?” the girl said. Alya turned to her, and noticed the little red and black creature poking out of her top, winking at her. Alya sagged, and let out a groan.

                “Uugh, fine, I’ll see if I can grab a live feed or something…” she said, theatrically, stomping off with a little bit more gusto than perhaps was needed. The two girls quickly entered the room, and closed the door.

                “Tikki, spots on!” Marinette exclaimed, and Alya’s jaw dropped. It was hard for her to adequately comprehend exactly what happened, as the transformation seemed to be over before it had even started, and yet, at the same time, seemed to last upwards of twenty seconds. Light and sound were definitely involved, but she struggled to remember what she had seen and heard after the fact. Space folded in over itself, and time ran forwards and back at the same time. Reality itself warped as her friend became her idol, pyjamas and slippers becoming… nothing. She had never really noticed before, but Ladybug’s costume did not seem to include shoes.

                “Alya? Earth to Alya,” Ladybug said, shaking the girl from her train of thoughts. “So, are we going to the hotel or not?” she said, a grin on her face and her hand offered towards the brown haired girl. Alya looked at the suit clad hand, and let out a chuckle.

                “This is so surreal. I feel like I’m in a dream right now…” she began, her mind drifting back to the night before, and shuddered as her hair began to stand on end at the memories of heat and pain.

                “Well, I’m definitely awake right now. Normally, I would tell you to stay away, stay safe, Akumas can be dangerous, but, if it were my Maman, and I wasn’t the one who used these powers… I’d probably do everything I could to get there. At least if you’re with me, I can protect you,” she said, smiling warmly. Alya nodded, and faux swooned.

                “Then, by all means, sweep me off my feet, hero!” she said with a chuckle.

 

                The time to get to the hotel was spent mostly in silence. Alya had been carried by Ladybug before, even before now, but she had never been so concerned about an akuma attack before. Something in her gut told her that this attack was something more than a delay.

                _Five euro says that it was Chloe who caused it. I totally get why she’s the Anti Bug_ the voice in her mind said.

                “Shut up. You don’t even have money!” Alya whispered as Ladybug looked over the roof of a nearby building at the hotel. It was clear that an Akuma was working its power on the building, which had been covered in strange, soft looking material.

                “What was that?” Ladybug asked, glancing over to her.

                “Uh… just… talking to myself, no big,” she said, as she heard a faint cackle within her mind. She looked over the building, and gasped.

                “I recognise that stuff. It’s baby proofing. It’s on all the sharp corners, look, I bet that stuff is crazy soft. Mama used to use it around the house when the twins were born,” she said, flipping out her phone to get some shots of the building.

                “OK, I know how useless it is to say this, but please stay here where it’s safe,” Ladybug said, and Alya nodded her head.

                “I’ll…” she began, before being cut off by a loud feedback noise, as a large baby monitor appeared in the sky above the hotel.

                “Ladybug and Chat Noir! Please bring your Miraculouses to the roof of the Grand Hotel in one hour, or regretfully, I will turn Paris into the world’s largest crèche,” a voice echoed from the monitor, before it vanished in a puff of talc. Alya’s eyes were wide with horror.

                “Ladybug. My mother’s not just involved in the attack. She IS the attack! That was her voice!” she exclaimed, clasping onto the girl’s arm as she prepared to swing forwards.

                “I… I’ll be…” the black and red clad girl began, glancing back to Alya. She almost flinched at the fury in the girls eyes as she glared back at her.

                “Give Hawkmoth hell for me!” she all but growled, her grip still tight on the girl. Marinette nodded firmly, and spun her yoyo.

                “I’ll break his spell on her, I promise!” she said, launching herself from the rooftop. She arced through the sky, landing with a heavy thud on another rooftop, before dropping further.

                “Ladybug! Thank goodness! Chat Noir is already inside! My daughter, she was caught up too! Please, you have to save her,” Major Bourgeois called as she landed just behind the police cordon.

                “Has anyone seen what this Akuma’s powers are? Other than the obvious,” she asked, gesturing to the baby proofing.

                “She steals people’s age, she has this rod that makes adults into kids, and kids into babies!” Officer Raincomprix said, as he gestured to where a group of kids in oversized clothes were being checked out by the ambulance crew.

                “Right. Thank you for letting me know,” she said, hopping over the barrier and charging towards the door, bursting through it with ease. She ran to the stairs, and lashed her yoyo upwards, shooting up the stairwell to a higher floor.

                “Hallo, my lady! You look well,” a familiar voice said, as she reached the executive floor. Chat Noir stood there, tied up by a skipping rope. “And here I was worrying that you’d skip this one,” he added with a smirk. Ladybug rolled her eyes, and dropped to the floor, untying him from the bindings.

                “What’s the Akuma like?” she asked, as she unlooped him.

                “All work and no play. Ironic really. She fights with toys, so you should get along well with her,” he said, teasing a finger along her yoyo. She pulled back from him, her hand clasping it tightly.

                “No-one touches my yoyo!” she snapped, glaring back at him.

                “I know, I know. Just playing our little game,” he said with a smirk.

                “The Akuma victim… it’s Marlena Cesaire, the head chef here. I want to know what happened here. If it’s Chloe again, I swear, I am going to hit the roof. And then maybe throw her off of it…” she rumbled, heading back to the stairs.

                “Ladybug, wait! She’s different to most Akuma I’ve seen. She’s… nurturing, she seems nice even. Don’t get distracted,” Chat said, trying to free himself from the tangled ropes.

                “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine,” she said, smiling back at him.

 

                “Ladybug! How good of you to join me. Would you like some cookies?” a soothing voice said as Ladybug arrived on the roof. The pool that was usually there had been turned into a ball pit, and everything looked like the inside of a playpen. The Akuma looked like Hawkmoth had somehow managed to distil the essence of motherhood and poured it all over Marlena Cesaire. She had a cheery knitted sweater, rosy red cheeks and her hair in a bun, everything about her screamed ‘Matriarch’.

                “Miss Cesaire! I’ve come to rescue you,” Ladybug said, clasping her yoyo tightly.

                “Please dear, call me Mother Knows Best. Put down that cheap, nasty toy and play with something much more fun. If you really must insist on violence, try using one of these foam batons instead?” she said, offering one of the toys to Ladybug.

                “Sorry. I prefer this one. It was a gift from a close friend,” she said, lashing forwards with the yoyo. Mother Knows Best simply stepped aside, deflecting the yoyo with the magic rod that she held.

                “Hmph. If you insist on being such a naughty child, you’ll join that one in the time out cage,” she said, gesturing to a small plastic cage, inside which sat an extremely furious Chloe Bourgeois, who had mittens on her hands, a pacifier in her mouth, and an oversized diaper on top of her regular clothing. She also had a look of indignant rage on her face unlike anything Ladybug had seen before.

                “That one insisted on acting so much like a petulant little baby, so she is slowly becoming one. I doubt you would like the same fate. Give me your Miraculous, and I will let you play with any toy you want,” Mother Knows Best said.

                “Again, I must respectfully decline. I’m a little too old for playdates,” Ladybug replied, launching her attack again. She noted that the akuma seemed to become a little angrier.

                “I can change that,” the woman snapped, threat heavily present in her tone. She dodged the yoyo again, and trust the wand forwards, sending a bright pink beam towards the superhero. Ladybug dodged, but Chat, who had just emerged from the stairwell, was not so lucky. He was struck by the beam, and shrank down to the size of a toddler. Fortune was on his side however, as his clothes shrank with him.

                “Chat! Oh no…” Ladybug exclaimed, dashing over to him.

                “I’m OK! You haf to stop her!” he replied, pulling her out of the way of another blast from the wand.

                “You’re right! I have to end this! Lucky charm!” she cried, letting her yoyo do its thing. Bright light glowed from it for a moment, and two small pieces of card dropped into her hands. “What the… concert tickets? What am I supposed to do with these?” she said, flipping the things over to reveal them. Her mind raced, and a grin spread across her face. She dodged another blast, and began to draw in closer.

 

                “You know, I’m way too old for toys, too,” she called out, noting the twitch in the woman’s eye as she lashed out again. “In fact, I’m going through a bit of a rebellious phase at the moment!” Another blast dodged. “Staying out late, sneaking away without permission, even being a bad influence on my friends!” she said, and Mother Knows Best let out a roar, blasting at Ladybug over and over again.

                “In fact! I’m even going on a date! To a concert! Where they play rock music! And here’s the real kicker,” she said, cartwheeling over the beams to land right in front of the woman, thrusting the tickets into her face. She leaned in close, and craned her neck to whisper into the woman’s ear. “It’s with your daughter,” she said. Mother Know’s Best let out a shriek of rage, as Ladybug dropped backwards, bicycle kicking the rod out of her hand, towards Chat.

                “Catakwysm!” he exclaimed, grabbing the rod, shattering it into pieces. A purple butterfly emerged from the broken pieces. After Ladybug had cleared up the changes made with her Miraculous power, Chloe came storming over to them.

                “Ladybug! I demand that you take her to be arrested!” she snapped, thrusting her finger towards the confused and rather dazed Marlena. “She assaulted me!”

                “Chloe…” Chat said, trying to defuse the situation by standing between her and Marlena, which, unfortunately, left Ladybug a clear path to her. She stormed over to her, grabbing her by the scruff of the neck.

                “Shut up! You have learned **nothing** these past few years. You cause so many Akumas, I’m fairly convinced **you** should be in jail! You’re a menace, and despite knowing that your tirades can cause innocent people, **good** people like Mrs Cesaire here to become tools to that absolute **bastard** , you continue to act like your stupid selfish self, bumbling blindly into whatever trouble you want, all because you’re Chloe Bourgeois! Well, congratulations on another fine mess caused! I hope you’re happy with yourself, because if I were you, I’d cry myself to sleep every night!” she yelled, fixing the woman with a glare. Silence rang out over the rooftop for a few seconds, before Chloe began to sob, and the hero’s earrings began to beep.

                “Whoa… Ladybug, I-” Chat began.

                “I have to go,” she said, running to the edge of the roof and leaping off before she could be stopped. Chat moved to follow her, but was halted by Chloe gripping him weakly.

                “Please don’t go,” she whispered through her sobs. He looked down at her, then over at Marlena, who still looked utterly perplexed, before letting out a soft sigh, and relenting, watching over the edge of the roof as Ladybug launched her yoyo out, and swung towards another building.


	12. Anything but Popples!

                Ladybug wasn’t expecting Alya to be on the rooftop, but she returned there first just to check. She dropped down into the alley, and transformed back, and pulled out her phone.

                “Hey, Alya… it’s me. Um… everything’s all sorted. Could you… could you come and meet me? I’m at the back of the building I left you on. OK. Thank you. I l-ll see you soon,” she said, hanging up before she could make even more of a fool of herself. Five minutes later, Alya’s head peaked around the corner, and Marinette waved weakly. Alya approached the girl, and Marinette clamped around her tightly, letting out a faintly sobbed groan.

                “What happened? Is everything OK?” Alya asked, heart thudding against her chest.

                “We beat the akuma… but I yelled at Chloe. Like, seriously chewed her out, cussed her down,” she said, remaining firmly against her shoulder.

                “Well… she probably deserved it. She’s the queen of all bitches after all,” Alya replied, thinking back to what had happened the day before. “She was even talking about getting my mama fired yesterday, so she probably had something to do with the akumatisation. I’d probably have pounded her, myself,” she went on, pulling her sleeve back to display what little muscle she had. Despite herself, Marinette let out a faint chuckle.

                “I suppose… but I completely lost control for a moment there. I’m supposed to be a hero, but I just… it felt like it wasn’t me! Something felt different… it wasn’t good, Alya,” she said.

                “Something is happening with the magic of the Miraculous. With your permission, Marinette, I would like to visit someone for the rest of the day. I can get there and back by myself, I won’t ask you to put yourself at risk,” Tikki said quietly. She seemed a little distant, like her mind. Before either girl could react, she zoomed off into the sky, vanishing in an instant.

                “Well… That seems… ominous. As for Chloe… see how she is on Monday, she might be over it by then, you know how her mood swings are,” Alya said, looking wistfully up at the hotel. “Are you feeling up to going back there? I really want to make sure Mama’s OK,” she said, glancing away from Marinette.

                “Is that wise? You might get seen on TV, and I bet Papa is watching the news. We should really head back before we’re discovered,” she said, catching the girl’s gaze. Alya sighed, nodding her head.

                “You’re right. Better to not get into any more trouble than we’re already in. let’s go back to yours,” she said, pulling the girl in for one last hug before they set off.

 

                It took them altogether far longer than either girl would have liked to get back to her room, sneaking up the ladder that Marinette had hidden for just such an occasion.

                “You really are more rebellious than I gave you credit for, aren’t you?” Alya said, grinning at the girl as she nudged the ladder into place.

                “Gotta have a backup plan when you’re the ‘hero of paris’” Marinette replied, rolling her eyes a little. The girls climbed back up onto her little patio, to the sound of hammered knocking on her bedroom door.

                “Marinette! Ohh, I swear if you’ve snuck out, you are in so much trouble young lady!” Tom’s voice came through the door, as she hurriedly padded to the door, and Alya rushed to the computer.

                “Hiii, Papa! How are you?” Marinette said, beaming her wide, fake grin as she pulled the door open and waved at him.

                “Marinette, I was calling you for ten minutes! Why didn’t you respond?” he growled, with all the ferocity of a grumpy puppy. Marinette bumbled her words for a few moments, before Alya nonchalantly leaned back, holding up two pairs of headphones.

                “Sorry Mr Dupain. We were listening to Jagged Stone!” she said, holding the headphones up a bit more. Both Tom and Marinette could hear the music blasting out from the door.

                “Well, that’s fine, but next time, don’t lock your door. If you were to get hurt, we’d struggle to get in here,” he said, a worried look on his face. “Oh, and that reminds me, I’ve just been on the phone with officer Raincomprix. He called on behalf of Alya’s mother, asking if we would keep Alya safe until Monday. If that’s OK with you, Alya, you are more than welcome to stay,” he said, smiling. Alya took in a short breath, and nodded.

                “That’s OK, thank you. I’ll… yeah, that’s… that’s for the best, I think. So Mama isn’t worried,” she said, her hands shaking a little.

                “Everything OK Alya?” Marinette asked, pacing quickly over to her. Alya flinched a little at the girl’s touch.

                “I just… I remember, when I was akumatised… being so… so consumed with emotion, and feeling so drained after. I’m just worried about my mama is all,” she said quietly. Marinette nodded weakly, unable to come up with the words to say to her friend.

                _I wasn’t that bad was I? Don’t you remember we had so much fun, jumping in and out of cellphones, making all those people watch us? It was wonderful!_ The voice echoed inside Alya’s mind, making her shiver. As Tom left, she slammed her hand down on the table, pinching the bridge of her nose.

                “I need some air,” she stated, pacing up to Marinette’s little balcony, closing the hatch behind her.

 

                “OK, what the hell are you?” Alya snapped quietly once she was out in the open air. Nothing responded. The girl crossed her arms, sitting on the little ledge Marinette kept her plants on. “Come on, I’m waiting…” she said, tapping her foot.

                _You’re cute when you’re mad_ the voice said with a giggle, and Alya stood, triumphant.

                “Ahah! I knew you weren’t just my imagination or my internalised thoughts! Who are you?” she said.

                _You’re half right. I’m you… kind of. I’m also kind of Lady Wifi_ the voice replied, hesitantly.

                “What!? Akuma! Get out of my head! Hawkmoth will never take control of me again!” Alya cried out, looking around for something to retrain herself with.

                _Wait, wait wait wait! Hold on, ya idiot. I’m nothing to do with him, not any more. OK, since I’m still kinda piecing all this together myself, you have to calm down and listen. Can you do that?_ The voice asked. Alya nodded her head. _Good. Now firstly, I need you to slap yourself in the cheek_.

                “Um…”

                _Just do it_.

                “Okay…” Alya mumbled, hesitantly slapping herself in the face. She heard laughter echo within her mind.

                _Oh my god I can’t believe you just did that! Hahahahaha!_

                “OK, enough funny business! Talk!” Alya growled.

                _Fiiine. I’m an aspect of you that you try to keep hidden. I’m… your zeal, your jealousy, your teasing side, your irrational impulses. How I got the personality and identity of Lady Wifi, I have no idea, but, there you go. Akuma magic remaining in you or something, I don’t know._

                “So, you’re like… another person living in my head?”

                _No. I’m you. I’m ‘unrestrained Alya’, just like there’s ‘Friend Alya’ and ‘Shutterbug Alya’ and ‘so sad she can’t even breathe properly’ Alya and ‘Drunk Alya’. Aspects of yourself as a whole being. I just have a stronger voice than most, because Aluma Magic or something._ The voice went on. Alya took in a deep breath, sitting back on the stone ledge.

                “Wow… that’s… a lot to take in,” she said, staring out at the skyline of Paris. She sat in silence for a little while, just trying to wrap her head around the idea. “So why insult me and make fun of me. Us. Err… me?” she asked eventually.

                _Self-depreciative humour mostly. Also, calling out your own bullshit. Oh, don’t pout, you know the words you just don’t use them. I do. Crap shit poop penis pussy!_ The voice said with glee. Alya blushed faintly, curling in on herself a little.

                “Well, can you not! I don’t need an internal monologue swearing and making fun of everything I do,” she said, frustrated that she had no target to look at, nothing to focus on.

                _Hahaha, well, I hope you enjoy lobotomies, because that’s the only way out. I’ll make you a deal though. I’ll stay quiet unless I see something that absolutely needs to be addressed, but, in return, you need to start following your wild impulses more. Grab life by the hair and make it your bitch! Do the same to Marinette too, she seems like she’s into that_ the voice said, and Alya could almost **hear** the grin behind the words.

                “OK, I’m going to go drown you out with music so loud they’ll be able to hear it in Bordeaux, and if you ever talk like that about Marinette again, I will… I’ll…”

                _You’ll what? What possible threat could you give to your wild side?_

                “I’ll watch Popples with Etta and Ella for a whole day. Can’t imagine my wild side would enjoy a day of educational programming for six year olds,” she said, smirking to herself.

                _Alright, you drive a hard bargain. But consider letting loose a bit more, it’d be fuuuun_ the voice said, fading away slowly.

 

                Awkward silence had returned to the Dupain-Cheng household. Alya returned after almost an hour sat outside, but the girl just curled up on the armoire, listening to music. Eventually, Marinette walked over to her friend, sitting next to her, legs crossed upon the armoire.

                “Hey Alya,” she said softly, waving at the girl. Alya arched an eyebrow, and pulled out one of the earpieces.

                “Hmm?” she asked.

                “So, uh… I was wondering something. What was it that attracted you to me?” Marinette asked, tilting her head a little. Alya found herself blushing lightly as she looked over at the girl, and pressed her head forwards into her knees.

                “Mnnnhhh, do we have to do this now? I’m not in the best mood,” she mumbled.

                “Please? I’m really curious,” Marinette said, tilting a little lower to catch the girl’s eye between her glasses.

                “Rrgh, fine. You always seemed to be looking for the best in people. You were always prepared to give yourself up for others too, like, you were selfless. Plus, you’re kind and generous, you’re creative and always looking for beauty in things, which is ironic because you’re beautiful, and you never seem to, like, be aware of it too,” she said, blush spreading a little as she glanced around the room. Marinette’s own blush grew wider and deeper as she listened, but she fought back her impulses to giggle and squeak about it.

                “B-beautiful?” she asked, her voice a little hoarse.

                “Y-yeah,” Alya mumbled, risking a glance across at the girl.

_Hahaha, big mistake, oh my god, you have it so bad for her. Are those literal rainbows and pink hearts surrounding her? Hah!_ the voice inside her mind spoke, as Alya stared.

                “Uh… It’s… like…” she struggled, before taking a breath. “Girl, have you ever LOOKED at yourself? You have teal coloured eyes. TEAL. Grown men weep before girls with teal coloured eyes. And your nose? Cute as a button and perfect in every way! Your lips? Dangerously kissable! Your beautiful skin? Silky smooth! If you weren’t my friend I’d be accusing you of a ridiculous level of personal grooming, but I know for a fact you don’t do any of that. You’re just naturally that amazing. And don’t get me st-eek!” she went on, before being tackled into a tight hug by Marinette, who had long since given up her struggle, and was giggling away blushing like a maniac.

                “Alyaaaa, stooooop!” she squeaked, as Alya began to cradle the girl in her arms, grinning widely.

                “Heck no! I want to compliment the crap out of you!” she said with a grin.

                “Ohh? Well then! Two can play at that game, miss incredible fashion style, miss chaotic good, miss determined. You are the most tenacious, most passionate girl I know, you have so much energy and charisma. Oh, and did I mention gorgeous? Because I feel I should mention how amazingly attractive you are. **Not only** is your hair incredible and your eyes… your eyes… whoa…” Marinette began, gazing deeply into them as Alya slowly uncurled, pulling Marinette in closer. “Like looking into the night sky and seeing your destiny,” she breathed, as Alya, blushing brighter than she felt she ever had before, brought a hand up to Marinette’s cheek, pushing back a few errant strands of hair. Heart pounded against heart as the two girls drew closer to one another, shaking hands on cheek and shoulders, legs against legs, Alya leaning forwards and Marinette holding herself up.

                “Marinette,” Alya whispered, her face inches from the girls, as her hand glided back up into her hair, gently tugging the girl’s hair band off, letting out one side of her hair. Marinette tensed up for a moment, but something drove her to keep her composure. Nose touched nose.

                “Alya…” Marinette replied, her whole body quivering with a blend of emotions. Fear, desire, doubt, joy and sadness all battled for control as she felt the girl’s breath hit her lips, knowing that her own shuddering breath must be doing the same to her.

                “Hey Alya! I dug out an old boardgame that Marinette and I used to play, and whoa! What happened?” Tom asked, as he poked his head up out of the floor door. In the moment they had heard his voice, Alya had grabbed Marinette’s hand and pulled her down, resulting in Marinette slowly rolling over her, and onto the floor with a gentle thud. She lay sprawled on the floor, wide eyed and weakly panting.

                “I fell!”

                “She tripped!” Both girls spoke in unison, and the male rolled his eyes with a chuckle.

                “Oh, Marinette. Born with all the balance of a marble on a slope! Come on, both of you come and play this game, it’s fun!” he said, gesturing for them to follow as he headed back down the stairs. Alya hurriedly pushed herself to her feet, and paced away from the girl, her face plum with her blushes. She made an excuse for herself and ran to the bathroom, glaring into the mirror.

                “You’re doing this aren’t you?” she whispered harshly.

                _I dunno **what** you mean, hehehe_ the voice within her said.

                “It’s too soon! It’s been a **day!** I still need time to think about all this!” she snapped, running the taps to splash some water onto her face.

                _So… you’re saying you don’t feel that way about her?_

                “That’s not what I mean! You know what I mean! Holy crap…” she whimpered, holding her hand to her chest to feel her heart pounding against it. “I’m too worn out for all this…” she mumbled weakly.


	13. The Storm

                The evening passed without much event, Marinette and Alya worked on catching the brown haired girl up on the lesson she had missed, although Alya was struggling to keep herself awake. However when she did rest, it was fitful, and sporadic. Several times she awoke from her dreams to faint, mumbled words that she could barely pick up on. Either Marinette spoke in her sleep, or the little ladybug alien thing had returned. Sunday passed in a blur for her too, until she was brought to the hospital, to the same ward she had been taken to a year or so ago. Akuma victims tended to be brought in and checked through for any lasting harm, including a psyche evaluation, which Alya remembered hating.

                _Bunch of ridiculously leading questions trying to find out if you were going to try and get Hawkmoth’s attention again. Uugh, hate that guy_ the voice echoed within her thoughts. She silently nodded in agreement, keeping her head low. She was brought to her mother, who was awake and reading a book. As they approached, she lowered the book, and her face lit up. Alya dashed forwards, clamping her arms tightly around her.

                “Mama, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for running off, I was… there was something very big going on and I got really scared,” she whimpered, hugging her mother tightly as the woman shifted in the hotel bed.

                “I’m just glad you’re safe, precious. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she said, pulling her daughter in tightly. Alya whimpered wordlessly into her shoulder, as Marinette and her family watched on.

                “I’m sorry,” Alya repeated, shaking lightly.

                “U-um, maybe we should give them a moment,” Marinette said quietly to her parents, turning them around and walking them away as Alya pulled back from her mother, taking in shuddered breaths as she fought back against her tears.

                “Mama… I… this whole thing, it’s… I’m…” she struggled, trying to wrestle with the idea that was in her head, to try and get the words out. She didn’t want to be too stark, but she didn’t want to mince her words either. “What I mean is… it’s…” she continued, until she felt a delicate finger brush against her cheek, slowly pushing her hair aside.

                “Alya, you’re my daughter. I’ll love you no matter what,” she said softly, and in that moment, Alya knew. She understood that her mother had a good idea what had been going on. Her eyes misted up, and her tears quickly flooded down her cheeks as she clutched at her mother’s arm, nuzzling her hand as she sobbed.

                “Mama, I’m in love with Marinette,” she whispered, and found herself being pulled towards the woman, who embraced her firmly.

                “I know dear. And I love you,” Marlena whispered back, kissing Alya on the cheek. When the Dupain-Chengs returned, they found Alya sitting on a seat next to the bed, dabbing her eyes dry with a tissue, as the two Cesaires discussed this and that.

                “You seem to be recovering well Marlena. I can’t imagine what it’s like being taken by that terrifying madman,” Tom said, bunching his hand into a fist. “I’m so lucky that both I and my wonderful lady loves haven’t been pestered by that menace. If you need any help at all, please, don’t hesitate to say,” he added, pulling Marinette and Sabine closer to him.

                “Thank you Tom. I would be in your debt if you could keep Alya another night for us, Otis is already struggling with Etta and Ella,” she said. Tom and Sabine did not hesitate, offering Alya use of their home as long as she needed. After another while of small talk and gentle laughter, and passing on to her a gift of sweet treats, Marlena was left to get more rest.

 

                Marinette and Alya returned to the dark haired girl’s room late in the evening after completing homework to find Tikki stood on Marinette’s bed, pacing around as if she had a lot on her mind.

                “Marinette! Thank goodness, I’ve been here for hours!” the tiny creature exclaimed, zipping up into the air to latch itself to the girl.

                “Ah! Tikki. What’s wrong, are you OK?” she asked, looking at the creature that was nuzzling into her stomach.

                “I am, but you might not be,” she said, flitting back up to eye level. “And Chat might be in danger too. The whole world, even!” the tiny creature squeaked, as Marinettes and Alyas eyes grew wider.

                “Whoa whoa whoa, slow down Tikki. What’s wrong?” Marinette asked, looking at the bug-like creature, who tilted her head to one side.

                “Um… it’s difficult to explain with words. There’s an… event about to happen. They’re really rare, but there’s one going to happen really soon! It’s sort of like… an emotion storm. You know how in a weather storm, all the weather gets bigger, and more powerful. Winds blow stronger, rain falls heavier. Well, this is like that, but for emotions. Fear, anger, joy, happiness, sadness, everything is stronger. The ones I have experienced before were no big deal, but this one is big! It’s not even upon us and people are already feeling it. Little annoyances, little fears, are becoming bigger and bigger!” she said, zipping this way and that, performing an amusing little round of charades.

                “Which is why I blew up at Chloe, wasn’t it?” Marinette asked with a grim expression on her face. Tikki nodded her head.

                “Yes. Unfortunately, most Miraculous users aren’t offered any sort of immunity to it, they’re still people. But there is one that relies on emotion, and in a storm like this, it gets so much stronger…” the tiny creature spoke, looking up at the two girls, who shared a worried glance at one another.

                “Hawkmoth…” Alya whispered. Her heart lurched in her stomach, and a shiver went through her whole body. Memories of her tumultuous dream came flooding back, of the girl battered and bloodied.

                “Exactly,” Tikki said, nodding her head.

                “I have to warn Chat. He needs to know what we’re going to be up against. Alya, will you be OK covering for me if I head out for an hour or so?” Marinette asked, hurriedly scooping up Tikki and heading for the window.

                “Sure thing girl. I, uh…” she said, hurrying to follow the girl as she stepped out onto the balcony. Alya stopped a few steps from the girl, reaching out to grab at her sweater. “Marinette…” she said, glancing down at her feet.

                “Alya?” Marinette asked, turning back to face the girl. She closed the gap between them, taking Alya’s hand in her own. “Is everything OK?”

                “P-please be careful. Don’t do anything too risky,” she said, clasping Marinette’s hands tightly. Marinette caught her eye, and smiled warmly.

                “I promise I’ll be careful. I have someone very important to come back to, after all,” she said, leaning forwards to kiss Alya’s cheek gently. Alya gasped lightly, and Marinette tensed, pulling back suddenly. “OH! I, I, I hope that was OK, I didn’t, I mean, I don’t want to force anything, I just…” she stammered, until Alya let out a little giggle.

                “It’s fine. It’s… it’s exactly what I needed,” she said with a smile, stepping forwards against the girl, arms sliding around her to hug her tightly. They lingered against one another for a few moments before slowly parting. Marinette transformed quickly, and zipped off into the night, leaving Alya alone.

 

                “Chat! There you are! What took you so long, I sent the alert to you an hour ago!” Ladybug chided the hero as he dropped down onto the roof she was waiting on. The black clad male rolled his eyes slightly, his pole clicking back up to its compact mode as he paced over to her.

                “Forgive me, my Lady, but I was otherwise engaged,” he said, mirthlessly. He seemed to not be in the best of moods. Ladybug considered admonishing him for his lateness, but she thought better of it.

                “Fine. But you could have at least let me know,” she replied. He sucked in a breath of air, rocking his head back and forth to crick his neck.

                “While I would normally jump at the chance to spend some time with you, bugaboo, I was otherwise engaged. An old friend came to me looking for comfort, and I couldn’t refuse,” he said, smiling weakly. “However, I am all yours now,” he added with a wink.

                “Cute,” she said idly.

                “Really? Cute enough that you want to rub my belly? Or anything else I might have,” he said with a wide smirk. Ladybug rolled her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.

                “We have something important to discuss,” she said, gesturing for him to sit.

                “I’m pawsitively enraptured by your every word, my Lady,” he said, his emerald eyes focusing entirely on her.

                “Please be serious,” she said.

                “I always am serious when it comes to the most beautiful, most intelligent, most amazing girl in the whole world,” he said, reaching to take her hand. She pulled back quickly, glaring at him.

                “Please stop. I put up with the flirtiness before, but, now I think it’s a bit inappropriate,” she said. The male arched an eyebrow, leaning over to glance at her closer.

                “Ohhh? Why the sudden change of heart? Gasp! Maybe you're an imposter Ladybug, sent from an alternate dimension, one who is mean and grumpy?” he said, narrowing his eyes at her. She responded by casually flicking him on the nose.

                “Call down kitty, I’m just... it’s complicated, OK. I have some things going on in my civilian life that makes this… why am I even saying this, this isn’t important. Chat. Tikki has told me that something really dangerous is going to happen soon, something that will make our job a whole lot harder,” she said, shaking her head to try and get herself to focus.

                “I see. Well, if it’s enough to get my bugaboo flustered, then it must be dangerous,” he replied, and the girl sighed.

                “I am not your bugaboo! Just stop it already!” she snapped, tightening her hands into fists. “It’s not going to happen, not now, not ever! I’m… I’m… uugh, damnit damnit damnit, this isn’t, this is not the time for this. Chat, I’m sorry for snapping, I just…” she began.

                “Oh, I know exactly what you just,” he replied somewhat sinisterly. “You just don’t care about other people’s feelings. Chloe was absolutely distraught by what you said to her. You’re her hero, and you absolutely destroyed her,” he said, pushing himself up to glare at her.

                “She has been a brat for years now! She needed to be put in her place!” Ladybug snapped back.

                “Oh, of course, the job of a hero, putting people in their place, well, great job on that one, I’m certain that it’s only because we already HAD an Akuma today that she hasn’t turned into one,” he retorted, as she pulled herself up to glare into his eyes. “And now this, don’t bother letting me down gently, just smash my feelings apart like they’re nothing!” he finished, baton in hand.

                “I didn’t ASK you to have feelings for me, Chat! I can’t help how I feel about you! About… about boys!” she replied, hand darting instinctively to her yoyo.

                “I... wait, what?” he said, as the girl’s eyes widened.

                “Nothing! Forget I said anything! Chat, this, this whole thing, it’s all because of this big event! It’s called an emotion storm, it amplifies what people are feeling, anger, fear, sadness, joy, everything becomes more heightened. For me, all my little annoyances are becoming big blowouts, and for you… well, I’m halfway considering getting you neutered, kitty…” she said, dropping back to the roof, tucking her knees up against her chest.

                “I… that’s not… entirely untrue…” he muttered, taking a few steps back from her. “Maybe I am acting a little… differently than usual. A little more assertively, perhaps. But I wouldn’t exactly…” he began.

                “It’s getting worse, this is only the beginning. And with heightened emotions comes a heightened chance of Akuma. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them daily going forwards, so I really hope civilian you can drop everything for a few weeks…” she said. “I know I can’t, but… I have to. We have to…” she said, clenching her eyes tightly shut. She felt a gentle hand upon her back, as Chat began to rub her.

                “We’ll get through it, Bugaboo,” he said, though there was a lot of doubt in his voice. “And then I can go back to trying to woo you,” he added with a little wink. The girl smiled weakly, but said nothing.

 

                Marinette slunk into her bedroom with a huge yawn, pink light flooding the room as she detransformed. Alya stirred from her position at Marinette’s desk as the dark haired girl paced wearily across her room.

                “M-Mari? How did it go? Are you OK?” she asked in hushed, groggy tones. Marinette mumbled incoherently, leaning her weight against the taller girl with a groan. Alya took her weight, and helped her across the room to the ladder up to her bed.

                “Chat was being extra flirty. I snapped at him. He snapped at me. We almost got into a real fight. If we can’t pull together, what hope do we have?” she said weakly. Alya’s head dipped slightly, her fingers resting on her chin as she thought.

                “Well, we can try our best to keep people’s spirits up at school and at home. We can keep things positive through the Ladyblog. We could pool some of our money and buy a bunch of cakes for everyone at school, we could try and organise a group charity drive to bring more good feelings to the community,” she said, listing them off as she thought of them. Marinette smiled a weak but heartfelt smile.

                “That’s my Alya. You’re so smart,” she mumbled, struggling to keep her eyes open. Alya felt the now familiar prickly heat of a blush around her cheeks, and smiled back at the girl.

                “You need to get some sleep. Don’t set an alarm, I’ll wake you in time to get ready for school. Up you go,” she said, helping the girl climb the wooden ladder. Marinette flopped onto the bed, dragging Alya with her with a squeak. The brown haired girl wriggled to try and get free, but Marinette held her tight.

                “C’n y’stay here t’night?” the girl half mumbled half whimpered, her eyes shut and her arm gripping Alya’s nightshirt tightly. Alya took a deep breath as she struggled with her thoughts, before nodding her head.

                “Just for you,” she whispered, leaning in to kiss her forehead, before hesitating. A few awkward moments drifted by before she shook her head, changing her mind on the kiss. She closed her eyes and prepared for a night of sleep, regret tangling around her heart.


	14. Acceptance

                The searing heat had passed now, as though the blazing sun was dipping to the horizon, even though there was no such orb to be seen. Alya struggled on through the desert, noting that she seemed to be heading towards a single, jutting shard of rock that sat upon the horizon. It had already grown in size significantly since she first set eyes on it, but she knew she still had a way to go to get to it, and it would not be an easy thing to climb. Marinette rested upon her back, silent but for the occasional sigh of breath.

                “The waves are coming. They are ready to crash over you both at any moment,” a voice spoke all around her. The dark mouth in the sky had spoken, and now its lips curved into a lewd grin. “Stealing my plaything will not save either of you. Give her back to me, and I will protect her from the storm. A fair trade, I think you will agree. You, however, will drown,” it spoke, looming over her with sharp canines visible in its toothy smirk.

                “He is unfortunately right. You alone are nothing against him,” the masked Alya said, from a few paces behind her. “But together, we can hold our own. You have accepted me, now you must embrace me,” she said, as Alya slowed to a halt. The masked Alya opened her hands to reveal a single purple butterfly, wings damaged, struggling to crawl across her hand.

                “It… it’s not right. I would be accepting Him,” Alya said, looking down at the creature.

                “It would not. The anger was his, but the power is yours. He was a facilitator only. I will protect you from Him, so that you may protect her,” masked Alya replied, offering her hand. Alya hesitated, before reaching forwards.

                “No! I won’t allow it!” the fanged mouth snarled, as the sky grew dark. Dozens of swirls appeared within the blackness, and from each one, a bubbling black mass appeared, in the shape of a claw. The colossal claws stretched down towards the ground, where they splashed, causing great waves of black mass to crash outwards.

                “Run!” masked Alya cried, and she and Alya began to run forwards, as thinner claws began to lash down from the sky, the black wetness beginning to encroach upon them.

                “Why? Why are you doing this?” Alya cried out, as the mouth in the sky cackled with glee.

                “Because she is mine to do with as I wish! I can save her or I can end her!” it said, sending out yet more black claws to smash into the ground, causing splashes of blackness all around them. Alya made her way to a small rocky outcrop, as the water began to get closer and closer.

                “Do not let it touch you! If you begin to sink in, no amount of pull in the world will save you,” masked Alya said, from atop the rock. “You can stop this. I am offering you my help! You need only reach out, and take it,” she said, holding out the hand that held the butterfly. Alya looked down at the still slumbering form of Marinette in her arms, stepping up onto a taller rock to avoid the lapping waters.

                “For her,” she said, carefully repositioning the girl over her shoulder. She reached up, but could not quite reach the other Alyas hand. She grunted, and pushed herself onto her tiptoes, as masked Alya strained down to reach. The waters roared as the large waves drew closer, surrounding Alya’s vision with blackness.

                “You can do it!” masked Alya cried out. Alya took in a deep breath, and pushed herself up even more. She clasped her hand against the masked girl’s own, the butterfly exploding in a small puff of purple smoke. The masked version of herself gave a gentle smile, as she began to turn into similar looking purple smoke. Alya’s eyes slammed open along with her mouth, as light began to pour from her, sending the black mass back. The mouth in the sky let out a growl of pain.

                “Noooo!” it roared, as the blackness began to subside, sucked back up into the sky, leaving the wasteland as if it had never been touched. Alya glared up at the mouth, as her clothes shimmered between her own, and those of Lady Wifi. The mask also seemed to phase in and out, on her face and not at the same moment.

                “This. This girl right here,” she said, indicating Marinette, “She’s not yours. She’s not anyones! I will defend her to my dying breath and beyond, but she will never, **ever** be yours!” she roared. Her voice seemed to carry all over the plains, to evey inch of the wasteland, shaking the ground and rocks, shifting the sands. Bright light filled her eyes, as the warmth that had begun to vanish seemed to return. The shine of the sun became intense, almost blinding. Alya awoke with a start, as the sunlight shone through Marinette’s window, a warm beam of light that had just reached her eyes. She let out a soft sigh, and turned to face the slumbering Marinette. Her heart skipped against her chest as she looked down at the girl, who was curled and clinging to one of her arms and mumbling in her sleep.

                “Hey Mari. Time to wake up,” she whispered, poking the girl gently but with purpose in the cheek.

 

                “So… are we going to tell anyone?” Marinette asked as she brushed Alya’s hair. The sun was rising over the rooftops of Paris, and had done an excellent job of waking up both girls an hour before they had to. Marinette had showered and Alya had freshened herself up, and now they were getting ready for school.

                “Tell them what?” she asked, wincing as Marinette pulled out a particularly tough knot. The shorter girl tilted her head to the side, tapping her chin with the handle of the brush.

                “I guess... about us? I mean, I _think_ that we’re together now? Aren’t we?” she said, moving so that she could see the girl’s face.

                “I just don’t know Marinette. I… everything is so messed up. You’re my best friend,” she said hesitantly. Marinette paused for a moment, and then continued to brush, slower this time.

                “I know that. I just… I’d like us to be more. I want to hold your hand, I want to cuddle against you, I… I want to… k-kiss you,” the girl stammered. Alya’s eyes closed, as she reached up, taking Marinette’s hand in her own.

                “Mari, I… you know I want that too, right? I just… I need a little more time. If you want to come out, if you want to make it clear who and what you are, I’m not going to stop you, but… I just need a bit more time. I’m sorry,” she said, clasping the girls hand tightly.

                “OK. I’ll hold back too. I think, if we, we do become an item, then, revealing together might be better?” she said, leaning down to kiss the girl’s fingers delicately. Alya nodded her head with a smile, before she arched an eyebrow.

                “Oh! I might have to tell Nino at least a bit of what happened. He’s known about my crush since, like, forever,” she said.

                “Hehe. I suppose it probably came up while you were dating,” Marinette replied, poking her tongue out.

                “Bearding more like,” Alya muttered with a smirk.

                “I should probably tell Adrien too. He was supportive through my whole ‘holy crap I’m gay’ moment, and I owe him at least to be kept up to date,” she said. Alya nodded gently.

                “I trust them both. They’d make a cute couple, too,” she said, making Marinette giggle loudly as she tended to the girl’s hair.

                “Mmhh, morning,” a sleepy voice came from the desk, as Tikki rose from her draw. She rubbed at her eyes gently, before glancing over at them.

                “Morning Tikki! Sleep well?” Marinette asked. The little bug creature shook its head weakly.

                “No. The storm’s getting closer, and I tossed and turned all night,” she mumbled, floating lazily over to the girls, plopping down on Alya’s head.

                “Well, I’ll take my big bag in today, so you can get some sleep at school,” she said with a smile. Alya watched on in the mirror, bemusement on her face.

                “You take her to school with you?” she asked.

                “Yup. Every day, more or less, since I got her,” she said. Alya’s expression did not change.

                “Wow. Every day… man I am bad at my job,” she said with a sigh.

                “Don’t take it personally Alya, there’s magic that helps Kwami like me go unnoticed. It’s the same magic that helps Marinette keep her disguise,” she said, leaning over Alya’s forehead to peek down at her.

                “I learn more and more every day. Mind if I post something about it on the blog, or would that be a problem?” she asked.

                “Hmm. Maybe you could mix it in with some other theories, to make it less likely to be believed as truth?” Marinette said. Alya nodded with a smile.

                “Oh, that’ll be easy! There are hundreds of theories floating around the net. I’ll grab some of the best, and worst, and make a nice big post!” she said, phone already in hand.

 

                Alya and Marinette arrived to class early, and spent a little bit of time discussing their plan. Nino was the first to arrive, making telling him a little easier. He was excited for them both, but seemed to be expecting something more from Alya, like he was anticipating some other bit of trivia from her. Alix arrived shortly after, with Juleka in tow, and the boy gently shook his head. Both girls sighed, with Alix shrugging her shoulders.

                “Man, that’s boring! Call me when something interesting happens,” she said, as Juleka slunk into her seat. Peace reigned for a short while, before it was utterly shattered. Nino dashed out of the room, only to be confronted by Chloe and Sabrina.

                “Watch where you’re going you idiotic stoner!” Chloe snapped. The boy chuckled to himself, glancing back to Alya, mouthing ‘good luck’ to her.

                “Cesaire! I just want you to know that your mother’s job is very tentative at the moment! If you do anything to upset me, one quick call and she’s out!” she said, grinning gleefully at the girl, who rose from her seat with a dark glare in her eyes.

                “My mother was hospitalised because of you. She had to endure those damn psyche evaluations because of you! You…” she began, but she felt a hand on her shoulder. Marinette had also stood, and was gently pulling her back.

                “Chloe… I know what Ladybug said to you, and… I think she was way out of line to snap at you. It was unfair, and… she sucks. She’s supposed to be a hero! But she treated you like you were nothing. Worse! She treated you like a villain. She really, **really** sucks!” she said, looking the girl directly in the eyes. She was expecting a denial from the girl, a haughty comment or even a dismissal of her, but Chloe said nothing. “But I also think it’s unfair to take it out on Alya and her mother. Maybe you can… not. For once,” she went on.

                “Hmph. While you’re right that she was out of step to talk to me like that, you are also way beyond your league, Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Who and how I conduct my business is no concern of yours! And my point still stands, little Cesaire here better not do anything to irk me, or her mother loses her job,” the girl said. Sabrina shifted uneasily nearby, unable to really add anything to the girl’s rant.

                “Well, then we’re gunna have a problem. Because if your get her fired because ‘her daughter ticked you off’ then we’ll sue the everloving hell out of you! Hope you like wearing knock-off brands, Chloe, because we’d take the designer shirt straight off your back!” Alya growled back at her.

                “Alya. Emotions. Calm!” Marinette hissed, pulling at the girl’s arm.

                “Don’t try to test me, you don’t know how much I can push back, Cesaire!”

                “Alya! My damn name is Alya! You think you’re all that but you’re not!” she snapped, a dark outline appearing around her eyes.

                “I, uh… I have to go!” Sabrina squeaked, hurriedly making her exit, as Chloe leaned forwards to glare into Alya’s eyes.

                “You don’t want to push me! Forget about ever having a career as a journalist, my father will have you blacklisted from every reputable source in the country! Good luck getting past the police lines when you’re on every single watch list imaginable, Cesaire! I hope you like snapping photos of Ladybug through a crowd, because I’ll make sure **she** never gives you an exclusive interview again!” Chloe growled.

                “Hah! Do you know how stupid you sound? Oh, I’m gunna get the police, and my daddy, and ladybug! You are such a petulant child, Chloe! Just stop!” Alya said, stepping back and holding her hand up to the girl’s face. A bright purple light shone from her hand, and a large circle of purple light appeared in front of Chloe’s face, with a square of the same light inside it. Chloe stood motionless, her expression unchanging, her eyes unmoving, unblinking. She had even stopped breathing. Marinette stared at the woman in alarm, as Alya began to realise what the symbol was.

                “Aaaaaa **aaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!** ” both girls cried out in unison, as the mask of Lady Wifi faded from Alya’s eyes.


	15. College Francois Dupont Akuma Team Go!

                “OK. OK. OK. OK… OK,” Marinette repeated slowly, pacing back and forth with her hands in her hair. “OK… Tikki! She’ll know what to do! She’ll know what happened!” she squeaked, fishing through her bag. Alya stared on, fixated on Chloe as Marinette pulled the little bug from her bag. “Tikki! Answers! Help! Panic! Ing! Panicing! Is that I’m doing, oh god!” Marinette squeaked.

                “mnnnh, no mister cookie wizard, don’t stop making everything cookies,” the little creature mumbled. Marinette shook her lightly, but it was no good, she was unwakeable.

                “Whoa…” Alya whispered, leaning in closer to the light. She had never seen them so close; her only real experience with the ability had been when she was under Hawkmoth’s control. “She’s really frozen, isn’t she?” she said, glancing back to the girl.

                “Yes! Which means… I don’t know what it means! Are you Lady Wifi?” Marinette squeaked, pointing at Alya, who glanced over her outfit, and patted her face lightly.

                “I… don’t think so. I still think I’m Alya, so, probably not?” the girl said. She was unsure whether she was just calm about it, or was so far beyond panic that she had reached a state of serene, uncaring terror. She also felt light headed, and utterly drained of energy.

                “Um…” a voice spoke from the back of the class.

                “Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god!” Marinette paniced, beginning to breathe faster and faster.

                “Girl!” Alya snapped, grabbing the girl by both shoulder. Marinette’s eyes focused on the girl, who, after a moment’s pause, leaned forwards, and kissed her forehead gently. “Calm,” she said softly. Marinette took in a deep breath, and nodded. Alya smiled, and took a step back from the girl, before the frozen girl caught her eye again. She leaned forwards and poked Chloe, but the girl, her clothes and all, offered up a fair amount of resistance, as though she had become a statue.

                “Alya, don’t touch her, you might do something else!” Marinette said, biting the tips of her nails as she tried to think of something to do.

                “Yeah, like start her again!” Alya said with a little giggle, smirking as she looked over at Marinette. “Oh, come on, you wanted her to shut up as much as I did!” she said, as Marinette glared at her.

                “This is not time for making jokes Alya! Something really bad has happened, on top of the already bad things that are happening! And now you’re turning into Lady Wifi! I can’t deal with this!” Marinette squeaked, tugging on her pigtails as she stared across at her friend.

                “She’s not…” the voice mumbled.

                “Come ON girl, do I look like I’m in any sort of control of this? It happened out of the blue!” Alya replied, taking a step back from Marinette.

                “OK, we just need to… to calm down and… breathe,” Marinette said, taking in deep breaths to try and calm herself. Alya admitted to herself that, despite her best efforts to deny it, she was distracted by the sight of the girl’s chest purposefully rising and falling.

                “Uh… so, what do we do?” Alya mumbled, turning a little to hide the beginnings of her blush. “I could maybe… try to… unpause her? Before anyone else comes in, preferably,” she said.

                “I don’t know how safe it is. That’s evil power, it’s never good to mess with it,” Marinette said, leaning a little closer to the glowing light.

                “It’s not… evil…” the voice spoke, this time a lot closer.

                “It didn’t feel evil. I dunno Marinette, maybe it’s because of the storm, like, the emotions are reactivating the akumaa **aaaaaaahhhhh!!!!** ” she exclaimed, as a hand rested on her shoulder. Marinette’s eyes widened as much as Alya’s as she looked behind her to see the tall and slender form of Juleka stood behind them, her hand moving as if it had gently patted Alya on the shoulder.

                “ **Juleka!** ” Marinette shrieked, her jaw open in sheer panic.

                “Jules! Oh my… don’t sneak up on a girl like that!” Alya said, spinning to face the girl. “What are you even doing in ohh you didn’t leave with Alix did you?” she went on. The girl shook her head. “And you saw everything?” The girl nodded. “Oh boy…” she said, as Marinette squeaked lightly.

                “Juleka, you really, really, **really** need to…” the short dark haired girl began.

                “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. I can help. For now, it’s probably worth hiding her…” she said, pointing with the thumb of her lace-clad hand to Chloe.

                “I… I guess, but… won’t Sabrina realise she’s gone?” Marinette asked, as the girls began to carefully move Chloe towards the little stationery cupboard at the back of the classroom. Juleka nodded her head, taking a step away from them.

                “Don’t worry. She won’t notice me missing,” she said, a rare smile appearing on her face as it turned pale, a halo of neon pink appearing around her eyes. Marinette and Alya stood slack jawed as reality began to twist.

 

                “I still can’t believe this,” Alya whispered as she watched Chloe walk up to the board, her strut and demeanour absolutely perfect. She wrote an answer on the board, and handed the pen back to Madam Bustier with a little huff of indignation, pacing back to the class. She seemed to overshoot her seat for a fraction of a second, before slumping down next to Sabrina, who seemed convinced that this was her friend.

                “I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes,” Marinette whispered back, glancing over to the back of the classroom, where Rose sat alone. “How do you think she did it?”

                “Girl, I have no idea how anyone does anything anymore. I still can’t figure out how you kept your secret from me for so long,” Alya replied in hushed tones. The Chloe that sat a little way off from them was not the real Chloe, who was still frozen in time, and hidden in the cupboard. This Chloe was really Juleka, who, after her paling face and bright eyed shine, had shifted and twisted, her clothing, her height, her face, even her voice changing to become identical to that of the blonde bully.

                “It’s amazing when you think about it. I mean, she’s exactly the same! Right down to how she glances at her nails,” Marinette said. Alya nodded in agreement, in awe of the power being demonstrated to them both, even if they had no clue of its origin. The lesson ended and the class began to filter out. Alya and Marinette hung back, and were joined shortly by ‘Chloe’, who returned after leaving with Sabrina.

                “Uugh, that was a nightmare,” the blonde said, as space twisted once again, as the girl returned to her taller, dark haired true form. “I really dislike that girl,” she said, brushing her hair back over her eye.

                “Chloe is a bit much…” Alya muttered, still in awe of both girls.

                “Oh, she’s a pest, but pretending to be her was fun. I meant Sabrina. She’s a toady little lackey, who’ll say yes to anything. She just… uugh, I do not like her,” Juleka said, a little more enthusiastic in her mini tirade than either girl had ever heard her before.

                “Wow, I... I didn’t know. I guess a lot goes on in this class that I know nothing about…” Marinette said. Juleka nodded her head with a slight smile.

                “Way more than you could imagine,” she said.

                “So, what was that? What even is going on? I feel like I’ve been walking on clouds since earlier, nothing is solid anymore,” Alya said. Juleka tilted her head to one side, glancing at the door.

                “He can probably answer you better than I can. He was the first one to really figure things out,” she said, as the door slid open. Both Alya and Marinette turned to the door, as a cloud of bubbles wafted through. Behind them, idly dipping the wand part of his favoured calming toy into the mixture, was Nino, who casually strolled into the room, music blaring from his headphones which rested around his neck.

                “NINO!?” both girls exclaimed.

 

                “Hmm. Yeah, that’s a real bummer,” Nino said, inspecting the frozen form of Chloe. After the girls had yelled his name, he had glanced to Juleka, who had gestured to the cupboard. Ignoring Alya and Marinette’s questions, he opened the cupboard, peaking inside, and then spoke.

                “Yeah, we know! We have about thirty crazy situations piled on top of one another at the moment, so if we could at least get rid of some of them, that’d be useful!” Alya exclaimed. Nino smiled, and more bubbles seemed to appear out of nowhere. The room slowly began to fill with them, creating an oddly serene feeling, with lights gently reflecting everywhere. Alya found her stress beginning to fade, as her concerns seemed to melt away.

                “Whoa…” Marinette mumbled, slumping back to her desk. Almost as quickly as they appeared, they vanished, leaving Alya and Marinette calm, but still confused.

                “Now you’re getting it,” Nino said with a chuckle. “But I suppose it’s only fair to explain some. So, I dunno how many, or really why, but some Akuma victims are able to use the powers they had, or a similar ability, from when they were, like, turned. I kinda found it out by accident. After that big Christmas party at Adriens, I had this wack dream about myself, and when I woke up, I had bubble powers. Showering was a totes weird experience the first time!” he said with a laugh. “Now I can produce big, strong ones, or little ones which I can put my own feelings into, and when they pop, they pass those vibes on. Cool, right?” he asked. Alya nodded her head slowly.

                “I found my powers earlier, almost the same day as Reflekta appeared; but they took a lot of time to develop. I can… mirror people, reflect them. I can copy their motions, their mannerisms, even their appearance if I concentrate,” Juleka said quietly, resting on a nearby desk.

                “We found out during one Akuma attack, Juleka and I had gotten caught in the gym. Jules and Alix totes saved my bacon!” Nino said, causing the tall girl to roll her eyes.

                “You saved all three of us with that bubble shield. I’d’ve been crushed by the rubble,” she replied. Nino chuckled, patting her on the back.

                “Let’s just agree that we’re both awesome!” he said with a smile.

                “OK, sorry to derail this, but, I’m still really confused about a lot. Why is Chloe stuck like this?” Marinette asked.

                “Best guess? Alya activated Lady Wifi’s powers,” he said, poking the frozen girl. Alya closed her eyes, leaning back against the desk.

                “That… actually makes a lot of sense. I’ve been having a lot of weird dreams lately, about me, and about her…” she said quietly, pinching at the bridge of her nose.

                “Did you accept her?” Nino asked quietly. Alya nodded slowly. “Great! That’s really great Als! And here I was thinking that you’d have to do something really crazy like reveal who Ladybug was!” he said. The girl’s expression was like stone. “Wait… oh snizzidy snap! You know who she is don’t you?” he said. The girl glanced away and coughed slightly. “Hah! Oh man, this is cool! Are you gunna write up something for the blog?” he asked.

                “Um… I don’t think so. I didn’t ‘find out’, she told me, in good faith. I’d never betray a Big Secret,” she said, looking him in the eyes. The two seemed to share a silent conversation for a brief moment, before the boy nodded.

                “A’ight, that’s fair. Anyway, as much as it pains me to admit it, we need to unfreeze the pain in the butt. Any idea how you did it the first time, Als?” he said.

                “Well, I got really angry, and I wanted her to stop, and then, she stopped,” she said.

                “It sounds similar to my powers. Try and picture her moving about again, and try and force that idea out,” Juleka said. Alya closed her eyes, and began to concentrate.

                “Hey, wait a minute. Let’s get to the door first, and unfreeze her, then run. It’d be a sweet prank!” Nino said. Despite her protest, even Marinette agreed to this, and, as Alya focused, the students gathered their things, and prepared to flee. The brown haired girl felt something within her, a presence similar to the voice she had been conversing with, but with more power. It did not feel like a separate entity any more, instead it felt knotted into her, like it were a part of herself. Darkness appeared around her eyes, and solidified into a mask upon her face. She reached her hand forwards, and clicked her fingers. The sound echoed around the room, and the light of the stop button that hovered in front of Chloe shattered outwards, dissipating in moments. Chloe began to move again, continuing her look of indignation until she took a double take, looking around her in surprise, as Alya dashed out of the room following after Marinette, Nino and Juleka.


	16. A bet's a bet, Marinette!

                “Adrien!” Marinette called out, waving to the boy as he sat in the inner courtyard of the school. She and Alya had parted ways after their next lesson, as Marinette wanted to talk to the model, and Alya had things she needed to discuss with Nino and Juleka, and Marinette did not want to linger around them for any longer than she had to for fear of accidentally disclosing her secret.

                “Hey Marinette,” he said, cheeks resting on his palms. The boy looked utterly dejected, mopey and lethargic. He had seemed it in class too, but Marinette had other things on her mind back then.

                “What’s up?” she asked in a chipper voice, dropping onto the stone step next to him. The boy sighed, and turned to her with what she thought was quite an overdramatic flair.

                “The love of my live rejected me last night. Shot me down without so much as a reason why,” he said, as her eyes widened.

                “Oh no! How horrible! I’m so sorry Adrien. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard this must be for you,” she said, taking hold of his hand and squeezing it tightly. “Want me to go talk some sense into this person, see if I can make them see just how amazing you really are?” she said, smiling warmly at him.

                “That’s sweet of you, Marinette, but I doubt it would work. She’s been aware of how I feel about her for a while, but last night… things got a little heated. Harsh words were said by both of us, and, well, she rejected me,” he said, head resting on his palm.

                “What a mean thing to do! Really, give me this girls number, I want to give her a good talking to!” Marinette said, her face stern. Adrien glanced over at the girl’s angry pout, and couldn’t help but giggle.

                “Hehe, thank you Marinette, but really, it’s… well, it’s not fine, but I think I have to accept it. Anyway, since we mentioned talking to girls… were you able to…?” he said, extending his syllable for a few seconds.

                “Hmm? Oh! Yes! Alya and I talked, about a lot of things. We’re… um… you kinda have to keep this a secret, but, we’re seeing how things are going, regarding us, possibly, being an item,” she said, a grin spreading over her face the moment she spoke Alya’s name. Adrien chuckled, and smiled weakly.

                “I’m so happy for you, Marinette! You deserve a shot at happiness. I’ll be rooting for the both of you, and I’m here if you want to make things more public. But I promise not to tell a soul about it,” he said, crossing a finger over his chest. “Cross my heart!”

                “Thank you! Ahhh, Adrien, it’s so exciting! We’re making plans to go see a concert together! We made pastries together over the weekend!” she squealed.

                “Tell me everything! I want to know what happened to get you there!” Adrien said, laughing and smiling along hollowly with the girl as she began telling a choppy version of the events of the last few days, up to and including their impassioned near kiss.

 

                Marinette returned to her afternoon class with a light groan. The teacher had called in sick, which meant only one thing.

                “Replacement EPS lesson,” she moaned, glaring at the locker in front of her. She looked at the drab sports uniform of the school with a wince, the designer in her abhorred the muted blue and white, the slightly too short for comfort shorts and the lifeless, baggy material.

                “It’s not so bad! Getting to blow off some steam at school, I call that a win!” Alix said from a few lockers down. She was already in the blue and white shirt, doing stretches in her bare feet.

                “It is bad. I don’t want to get sweaty and bruised and wheezy, I want to stay nice and warm and not be forced to run around for two hours,” Marinette whined, slumping down onto the little bench in the changing room.

                “Hmph! As if you have every right to complain, Marinette Dupain-Cheng! You’re not the one who got a two hundred euro manicure this morning!” Chloe snapped to her from her left. “Uugh, even I couldn’t make these ridiculous booty shorts look good,” she said, holding her own at arms-length between two fingers. The girl had been sent from her regular lesson as a punishment in a rare display of backbone from Mr Damocles.

                “For once, Chloe, you and I agree. This uniform is ugly, the whole ordeal is pointless, and I don’t want to do it,” Marinette said, nodding in agreement.

                “Heh! You two are both weak! I bet the two of you together couldn’t beat me with one hand tied behind my back!” Alix teased, leaping up onto the bench from a standing start.

                “And what makes you think I couldn’t kick your Lilliputian butt from here to the Champs Elysees, Kubdel?” Chloe snapped back, stepping towards the girl.

                “Really? You get goaded that easily, Chloe?”

                “Stay out of this, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”

                “Nono, let her in! Both of you together couldn’t beat me at any sport you care to name! I bet you anything you want, anything at all!” Alix said, crossing her arms with a smirk.

                “What could you possibly offer me that I can’t already ask daddy for?” Chloe said with a satisfied smirk. Marinette looked up at Alix, and slowly reached between them, spreading her arms to move the girls apart. Chloe began to protest, but Marinette caught her eye, and leaned in to whisper something. “Oh. Ohohoho! Oh my! Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I like the way you think!” she said.

                “What? Come on, you’ve got nothing that’ll rattle me!” Alix said.

                “Whatever sport we want. If you lose, you have to be our dress up doll for a month. Marinette and I will get to dress you up every day for school, and for at least two weekend days, one of which will be an evening formal event,” Chloe said, crossing her arms to mimic Alix’s pose.

                “Tch… What sport?” the girl said, a faint look of fear crossing her face briefly.

                “Not part of the deal. If you’re so confident, you should be able to accept no matter. It’s a physical sport that involves a ball, and running. We’re not trying to cheat by saying something that’s against the whole point of the bet. You think you are physically better than the two of us combined, so we want to prove you wrong. Picking something un-athletic like darts wouldn’t do that,” Marinette said, a sly grin on her face.

                “Nngh… Two weeks, no formal event,” Alix replied.

                “Three weeks, one weekend, which will be formal,” Chloe replied.

                “Come on, I hate those frou-frou parties. Two weeks, two weekend days, one of which can be shopping in public,” Alix said. Chloe tilted her head, turning to Marinette.

                “Put a cherry on top,” Marinette said.

                “Uugh. Okaaaay… I will declare to everyone in class that sports are lame. But if you girls lose, you have to declare them awesome, and come on a skate with me twice a week!”Alix said. Marinette and Chloe nodded, casually bumping fists.

                “We have a deal!” Chloe said, shaking Alix’s hand.

                “OK. So what sport are we talking here?” Alix asked, shaking Marinette’s hand.

 

                “Ohhh, you two suck!” The tiny girl said as she looked up at the basketball hoop. They had convinced their gym teacher, a burly man in a red tracksuit with a small bandaid under his left eye, to let them have their little competition, with the promise of good favour with the mayor and a free tray of macarons from the Dupain bakery. Marinette bounced the orange ball once or twice before throwing it to Alix, who caught it with ease despite her angry glare up at the ring.

                “We can get it lowered for you if you want, titch,” Chloe said with a giggle, before letting out a shriek as the ball sailed towards her. She dodged out of the way, and the ball bounced off towards the wall of the gym.

                “Chloe, if we’re going to win, you need to at least, you know, touch the ball,” Marinette said, rolling her eyes at the girl.

                “And let rubber touch my delicate hands? Are you out of your mind?” the blonde retorted with a pout.

                “Are you out of yours? We **have** to win this, Chloe!” the girl snapped. Chloe sighed, rolling her eyes back at Marinette, who fetched the ball and tossed it back to Alix. “First to five scores wins!” she called out, getting ready to go. Twenty minutes later, wheezing and groaning, Marinette reflected that trying to engage in a team game with Chloe was an insurmountable task. Even with the bet threat looming over them, the girl seemed more interested in her nails and her hair than in engaging in the game, which left Marinette to contend against the sportiest girl in school, alone. To her credit, while she had the stamina to keep up with Alix, she kept undercompensating, lacking the agility and sharp reflexes she was used to as Ladybug, and as a result came out looking clumsy and fumbling a lot.

                “And that’s five! Honestly, I’d love to keep whooping your butt, but I think that coach Morales wants us to join everyone else now,” Alix said, as the ball dropped neatly through the net. Marinette groaned, and fell to her knees, hanging her head.

                “This is your fault Dupain-Cheng!” Chloe snapped. Marinette’s head slowly rose, her eyes narrowed and her expression grim.

                “Whoa, crap crap crap crap crap, no you don’t!” Alix barked as she watched Marinette rise and turn to Chloe with her death glare. The short girl gripped her arm, and almost swung around the girl, pressing her other hand against her chest, clenching her eyes tightly shut. All around the two, the gym turned grey, all the colour draining from everyone and everything.

                “Alix, don’t stop me from… what the… an Akuma?” Marinette began, flinching as she looked around them.

                “Uh… sort of?” the girl said, maintaining her grip on Marinette despite the girls movements. “So, uh… Nino sent me a text or two… really wish I’d seen it happen, it blows that I missed it. But you really can’t blow up at Chloe right now, not in front of everyone,” the girl said, looking up at Marinette. She let out a growl which became a groan which became a whine.

                “Can’t I just slap her? Just a little bit? I’m at the end of my fuse with her at the moment, it’d be reeeeally cathartic to slap her in her big stupid face,” Marinette said, glaring across at the girl who was for the second time that day statuesque and frozen.

                “Yeah, well, we don’t have much more time here, and you need to calm down, so fake a cramp or something,” Alix said, sweating. She was struggling to maintain the time freeze, and it was clearly evident in the strain on her face. Marinette could barely comprehend her words before the world brightened suddenly, and she and Alix toppled to the floor.

 

                “Oww… oww… oww…” Alix groaned as she hopped along, an arm slung around Marinette’s waist.

                “This would be easier if I carried you,” Marinette said, and Alix shook her head firmly.

                “Nope, no way no how. No-one is allowed to carry me like that,” she said, clutching a little tighter. They made it to the bench, and the girl sat down with a groan. “Aaaaaagh, mmmnope, not broken, not sprained, it’s just a bit sore, that’s a small mercy,” she said, pulling her shoe and sock off.

                “Sorry again, Alix. I didn’t have time to think,” she said.

                “It’s fine, my fault, couldn’t keep it going any longer,” the short girl mumbled.

                “Still, that was incredible. That’s your… whatever it is that people seem to be getting, like how Juleka can change herself,” Marinette said.

                “Yeah, that’s my power. I rob time off of things, and use it myself. Timebreaker 2.0,” she said, with regret and a little bit of malice in her voice.

                “Alix?” Marinette asked, kneeling beside the girl. “Are you OK?” Alix turned away from the girl, her eyes clenched tightly shut.

                “It’s complicated, sorry. I just… suffice to say, I’m not a big fan of my powers,” she said, looking down at her foot. She took hold of the bench, and grabbed her ankle with her right hand. The swelling seemed to fade and pass into nothing, her skin returning to normal in an instant. “And the worst part about it is, not only is it insanely useful as an ability, but I’m, like, compelled to use it. I’ll keep finding these ridiculous excuses to use it, which just sucks!” she snapped, punching the bench with a groan.

                “If, if it’s not too much, what is it about the powers that you don’t like?” Marinette asked carefully.

                “It ain’t the powers, it’s… What did Nino tell you about these things?” she asked.

                “Not a whole lot, to be honest. He said his activated around Christmas, and Juleka had hers before, but it took a long time to learn,” Marinette replied.

                “Yeah, well, they both accepted the akuma. Me, I didn’t. It’s like a little voice inside you telling you all the things you want to do but shouldn’t are perfectly fine. It urges you to let go of ‘the rules’. My powers came to me a few months ago, during that big Akuma attack, Mr Damocles. ‘Hanging Sword’ or whatever it called itself. I had been struggling for a while, dealing with… her. But then Nino and Jules and Max and Kim were all trapped in the building, and I didn’t know what to do and I… I accepted her. Marinette, I dunno how much you remember from… from the day I got Akumatised… but I remember everything. From two timelines. Timebreaker wasn’t like most other Akuma, turning people into mindless slaves or zombies, or trying to get revenge on one person. Timebreaker straight up murdered people,” she said, taking in a shuddered gasp of air. “I… murdered people…” she said, through hesitant lips.

                “Alix…” Marinette whispered.

                “What kind of person am I, who can accept a side of themselves who happily stole people’s lives for her gain?” the pink haired girl replied, pulling her knees tight against her chest, resting her head against them.

                “Repentant. Empathetic. Willing to do whatever to save people,” Marinette said quietly, running her hand gently along the girls shoulders. Alix mumbled incoherently, tilting her head towards Marinette.

                “Hmm?”

                “I saw bits of what you did. You nearly died to save them. You took what I can only guess is a huge burden on, to rescue other people. Alix, you’re a hero!” Marinette said with a wide smile. Alix’s eyes began to well over, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks as she stared at the girl.

                “Thank you,” she whispered. She began to talk more, but her words were muffled as Marinette pulled her in for a tight hug, pressing the girl to her shoulder. The girls embraced for a few moments, before a blood curdling scream echoed around them, coming from towards the classrooms.

                “Oh joy. Akuma?” Alix muttered, her throat a little groggy. Marinette glanced around the room, and nodded.

                “I think so. You should find somewhere to hide, I need to… uh…” she said, faltering.

                “Go find your girlfriend? Heh, yeah, Jules told me about the forehead kiss. She even used an exclamation point, which for her is like, hyperventilating. I think she’s just excited about there being other gay girls for her to talk to. Don’t worry; my lips are sealed until you tell people. Go find Alya,” Alix said, hopping off the bench and making her way to the back of the room, where the banks of lockers converged, making a perfect hiding space.


	17. D-D-D-Dating!?

                “Nino! Hey! Come on, don’t give me the aloof nonsense, we need to talk,” Alya said, patting the boy on the back of the head as it bobbed along to his music. The male turned with an arched eyebrow, which quickly spread to his lips, which curled up into a big smile.

                “Alya! Wasn’t expecting to see you so soon!” he said with a chuckle. The girl pinched the little bits of fat under his forearm, and he winced with a yelp. “Oww! What was that for?” he squeaked, rubbing his arm.

                “You know darn well why! Keeping a secret like that from me!” she huffed, pouting. The two fell into step, heading towards the library.

                “Like I said, what was I gunna tell you? Oh hey, Als, I have these cool super powers like what you’ve always dreamed of having, only, for you to get them, you’d need to expose one of your biggest heroes to the world,” he said, earnestly. Alya huffed again, crossing her arms.

                “Well… you could’ve been subtle about it!” she snapped as they pushed through the big windowed doors.

                “That would’ve been a disaster; you can’t pick up subtle queues at all. It too you how long to realise I was gay?” he said in hushed tones with a smile.

                “A year of dating longer than I’d like to admit,” she replied, hanging her head. “Alright, fine, I’m dumb as a brick and bullheaded, but you could’ve, I dunno… told me something. Between this and everything that’s going on in my head and Marinette, I don’t even know what to believe anymore,” she said, slumping down onto one of the seats around the large, square table.

                “Believe that I love you and that I had your best interests in mind. I’m infinitely glad that you have these powers,” he said, smiling brightly at her. She sighed, and nodded her head weakly. “So… everything with Marinette?” he asked with a wide grin.

                “Uugh. I was wondering when you’d get to that. We’re working through things. We’ve not quite kissed yet, but we came close a few times. I’ve got to admit… I’m a little scared, everything’s been moving so fast. I just want to, like, take a breather from everything for a few days,” she said with a groan, pinching the bridge of her nose.

                “Hey, welcome to being almost an adult,” Nino replied, his grin somehow growing wider. The girl groaned again, slumping even further in her chair.

                “You know what the worst part of it all is. I am seriously pent up right now. Like, it’s been almost a week now, and with getting closer to Marinette, and some seriously weird dreams about myself which I am in no way going to be telling you about, I have a serious itch that needs scratching,” she said.

                “Firstly, thank you for sharing, that was a beautiful moment. Secondly, seriously? You need to talk to Marinette about that, like, two days ago,” he said, chuckling as the girl folded in on herself.

                “Aaaccckk!! Nino! I can’t tell her about things like that! Jeez! Unlike you and me, she’s not a pervy freak! She’s innocent, and pure, and delicate!” Alya said, sighing happily.

                “Oh, so you don’t know about the purple dolphin?” Nino said, arching an eyebrow.

                “Purple dolphin?”

                “HAH! Oh no, you ask Marinette about that!” he said, shifting away from the woman’s sudden grasp.

                “Nino Lahiffe you tell me right this second or I swear to god I’ll-” she began, chasing him as he dodged and weaved out of her grasp.

                “Shhh!” the librarian hissed, glaring at the two of them from around a bookshelf. Both of them apologised sheepishly, before Nino began to head to the door at a spirited pace, with Alya close behind him.

 

                “Damn him! Arrrgh! Now I just gotta know!” Alya grumbled to herself as she walked to her next lesson. The boy had managed to slip away from her in the chaos of the break between lessons, and left her bereft of any more information regarding the supposedly scandalous story. “I will end him for this,” she muttered, sorting through her bag for her phone.

                “Um… Alya?” a voice mumbled beside her. She glanced up to see Juleka sitting beside her, looking a little nervous. Alya arched a brow, and had a quick scan of the room, but no-one else was there yet.

                “Hey Juleka! What’s up?” she said, forcing herself to smile as politely as she could. The tall girl shifted slightly, hand slipping up to adjust her overhang of hair. Alya knew from experience that this was one of the ways the girl coped with her anxiety, so she stopped routing through her bag and turned to face her, smiling a little more warmly. “It’s OK, take your time,” she said softly. Juleka nodded, fidgeting in her seat.

                “It’s, um… Are… are you and Marinette… d-d-d-” she began.

                “Dating?” Alya asked. The girl nodded her head with a light blush. “Not exactly. It’s… complicated. We like each other, but… some things have happened recently which I don’t doubt you can take a guess at, so we’re taking things slowly,” she said. She noted that the girl was incredibly nervous, to the point that she seemed more like herself before the Reflekta incident, zero self-confidence and about the same volume.

                “O-oh… Um…” she began.

                “What’s on your mind?” Alya asked. Through fits and starts, she was able to get the girl to explain.

                “W-well, I, uh… was wondering if you might, uh… help me with something… r-related to um… a-asking a g-g-girl out. I can talk to her just fine, b-but when I get to th-thinking about a-asking her out, I g-get all stammer and I f-freeze up and I…” she said, halting her speech.

                “Ohhhhhhh. Sure, I can help you with that! Who’s the lucky lady?” Alya asked, knowing full well who the girl was infatuated with. It was painfully obvious to the point that half the class was in on the running pool of bets to see when she would confess.

                “R-R-Rose,” Juleka mumbled, blush turning her cheeks a bright shade of pink. Alya nodded her head, remembering to show exactly the right amount of surprise.

                “Ohh! Aww, Jules, that’s so sweet! So, what sort of help did you want? Pick up lines, coaching, I’m sort of an expert,” she said. She chose not to mention that the last few times she had done that sort of thing, she was trying to get the girl she loved on a date with someone else, as it didn’t seem important to the task in general.

                “Um… well… if I help you to use your power, c-could you… pause her when I get all quiet, so I can compose myself,” the girl said. Alya gave her a sceptical look.

                “Juleka… I don’t know how I feel about that. It seems… not right. Nonono, don’t take that the wrong way, I think you two are great for one another, but… a relationship based on you having to literally freeze your partner when you want to talk to her is… not a stable one. I’ll give you help and advice, like, try drawing on the confidence you had earlier, you were like a whole other person when you were dealing with the Chloe incident. Tall, strong, stoic, wise, beautiful, that’s the Juleka that Rose needs to see, and it’s who you are!” Alya said, patting the girl on the back. The girl’s shoulders slumped a little.

                “It… it’s not easy,” she said quietly.

                “I’ve found that nothing that you really want, that’s really worth having, is,” Alya replied with a sagely smile. “Come on, let’s find somewhere quiet. I want to try a few things. I don’t think Mademoiselle Bustier is going to turn up…”

 

                The two girls found a quiet spot in one of the lesser used corridors, began to practice. Alya was taught a few breathing exercises by the tall girl, and found the powers easier to call than she had been anticipating. Her emotions played a part in getting them to work, but they were not entirely link to them. Anger made it easier to pause things, and calmness made it easier to get them going again, but, through experimentation, she found she could do both just by thinking along the lines of the action she wanted. What helped a lot was the wifi in the area, and her proximity to a device that could access it.

                “I expect it will be more difficult to get it to work on people again, but you’re doing very well,” Juleka said, watching as Alya tossed a book into the air, paused it mid throw, and walked past it, releasing it to catch it on the way back down.

                “Huh, trust me to get a super power that was signal dependany. Sill though, this is so cool! I am going to practice the heck out of this. Which reminds me! Shouldn’t you be practicing?” she said, pointing to the little compact she had given Juleka as she tossed her cell phone up and down.

                “It’s haaaard,” the long haired girl whined, pouting a little. Alya rolled her eyes, and paced over to the girl.

                “Which is why you gotta practice! Come on, take Rose’s form again, without her voice, and look into the mirror while saying how you feel!” she said, poking her gently in the cheek. Juleka let out a cute little grumble, pouting faintly. She took a deep breath, and Alya was just able to close her eyes in time. Every time she witnessed someone transforming, she found herself feeling a little bit ill afterwards, but avoiding watching the actual thing had her feeling just fine.

                “O-ok…” Juleka as Rose said, as Alya opened her eyes again. “Um…” she mumbled, glancing down into the mirror. She let out a squeak, blushing brightly as she clapped the compact shut. “I can’t do it!” she exclaimed.

                “Yes you can girl! Come on. Just open up the mirror. Here,” she said, taking the thing from the now short girl, holding it open to her. “Just say what comes to your mind,” she said.

                “R-Rose… I… I…” JulekaRose stammered, trying to speak. “Alya, this is ridiculous!”

                “Come on! Just say ‘Rose, I know we’ve been friends for a long time, but I can’t seem to get you out of my head. Your beauty has me entranced, your kind and gentle soul fills my heart with butterflies whenever I see you. You are a shining star illuminating my life, and I would be honoured if you would consider going on a date with me’” Alya said, looking JulekaRose in the eyes.

                “Holy crap! I owe Max like a hundred euros!” A familiar voice behind Alya said, as a door swung open. Kim, Mylene and Ivan emerged from the classroom, with shocked faced.

                “Oh my gosh oh my gosh!! This is so sweet! It’s so romantic!” Mylene squealed, looking over at Ivan who nodded sheepishly.

                “Wait, no, you guys, this isn’t… we were just…” Alya stammered, turning to face them. She felt a movement behind her, and glanced back to see JulekaRose slip off the table, and take of running away from them at full speed. “Ah! Ju.. Rose! Wait! Oh crap…” she lamented, turning back to glare at Kim. “You… **so** much trouble!” she snapped, scooping up her things and running after the fleeing blonde.

                “Juleka! Wait, damnit, hold up! We can fix this, we just need to remain calm,” Alya cried out, as she caught up with the girl, who had slowed to a halt, staring out of one of the windows. Alya took a few moments to gather her breath, before a blood curdling scream rang out from the courtyard, echoing around the whole school.

                “I think we have bigger problems right now…” JulekaRose mumbled, shifting back into her normal form as Alya paced towards the window, staring up into the sky. A large woman, perhaps twenty feet tall, dressed in a pale green robe, hovered in the sky. Her eyes were covered with a similarly covered blindfold, and she held a set of pearlescent scales dangling from a golden chain in one hand, and a colossal sword in the other. A mop of reddish ginger hair betrayed the identity of the woman, whose skin looked to be made of stone.

                “I AM JUSTICE. AND YOU ARE ALL TO BE JUDGED!” The Akumatised Caline Bustier boomed, as she began to descend towards the school.


	18. Justice reigns from... above?

                Gentle sobs rang out at one end of a long, dark alleyway a few minutes’ walk from the school. Caline Bustier sat on the grimy paving stones, head in her hands, clothing torn and her belongings strewn all over the place, save for her phone and purse, which had both been taken. It had happened in a flash, the hooded man had followed her into the shortcut, grabbed her from behind and held a knife to her neck. The woman had complied, handing over her bag and what money she had, but the mugger had not been satisfied, and had kicked and punched at her, tearing her clothing and cutting her arms and sides with his blade. Now, she was shakily trying to dry her eyes, twinges of pain running through her body from the lightly bleeding cuts and the bruises she could feel spreading like wildfire across her stomach.

                “Why…” she whimpered, her whole body shaking as she tried to pull herself together. “Why me? He could have gone himself…” she continued to herself. She clutched her necklace, a tiny white pearl on a gold chain, struggling to pull herself to her feet. She failed to notice the dark, smoky butterfly land on the pearl, turning it dark. A dark red mask appeared around the woman’s eyes, haloed in purple light.

                “This world is cruel and unfair. The good are punished and the evil get away with whatever they desire. I can give you the power to change that! To tip the balance back to the just! All I ask in return is the Miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir!” a villainous voice echoed within the woman’s mind.

                “Yes, Hawkmoth!” the woman growled, as black smoke began to envelop her. The smoke grew exponentially, and from it, clad in green, the woman strode, almost quadruple her size, her necklace transformed into a dangling set of scales, and a sword in her spare hand. She turned her head slowly, ponderously, looking despite her blindfolded eyes. She caught sight of the mugger, and swung her sword in his direction. From above him, a colossal gavel appeared. The head of the hammer thundered into the ground in front of him, rupturing the stone beneath and creating a significant crater. The hooded man let out a shriek, as the woman began to walk towards him, as thin golden chains began to snake from the hammer, coiling around him and pulling him against the upturned handle

                “YOUR CRIMES WILL NOT GO UNPUNISHED!” she spoke, her voice carrying for hundreds of metres with ease. “YOURS… NOR ANYONE ELSES!” she exclaimed, twisting her head towards the College Francoise Dupont. She held her scales and her sword out wide, and, propelled by magical forces unseen, began to rise into the air, and float towards the school.

 

                “YOU WILL ALL BE JUDGED BY THE SWORD OF TRUTH!” the statue-like woman bellowed, twisting the sword in her hand. She caught sight of a student, and thrust the sword, a beam of light emerging from it. The beam struck him, and he let out an elongated moan of pain.

                “DECEPTION. YOU HAVE BEEN LYING TO YOUR PARENTS ABOUT YOUR GRADES. THEFT. YOU STOLE YOUR BEST FRIENDS FAVOURITE PEN. CRUELTY. YOU PLAY NEEDLESS PRANKS ON YOUR YOUNGER BROTHER. ALL UNJUST ACTS. SUFFER FOR THEM,” the woman spoke, before turning to the next student. Needless to say, everyone began to scatter.

                “Whoa! That’s harsh!” Nino said, as he and Adrien ran for cover. “Oh dude, imagine if Chloe got hit by that thing! A few lies and pranks, and he looks like he got hit by a car, Chloe’s gunna, like, die!” he said, as he headed for the library. Adrien swerved, heading in another direction.

                “Sorry bro, I gotta check on someone quick! Keep hidden!” he called out. Once he was out of sight, Adrien ducked into a classroom, and pulled open his shirt. Moments later, Chat Noir emerged from the same classroom, running at high speed back towards the Akuma.

                “Dude must think I’m an idiot,” Nino muttered as he watched the black clad hero dash past, chuckling to himself as a thin bubble began to emerge around himself.

 

                “Tikki! Finally, you’re awake, I’ve been trying to talk to you all day!” Marinette hissed once she had gotten away from Alix and found a safe place.

                “Mmhhh, sorry Marinette. Flying all that way by myself used up a lot of my energy,” the little creature mumbled. “Is it an Akuma?”

                “Yes and a heck of a lot more as well! But there’s no time for that now. Paris needs Ladybug,” she said, flicking her hair back. A flash of pink and a moment later, the spotted hero was on the move. She made her way to the roof of the school, dashing over it to get a better view of the sword wielding giantess.

                “Hello My Lady! Nice to see you again so soon! I guess this is a little of what you were trying to warn me about?” Chat’s singsong voice called out from the far side of the courtyard, also from the roof. Both Heroes stood on either side of the woman, who glanced between them, before taking a step backwards to get a better view of them. Ladybug rolled her eyes, choosing to let the flirty talk go at that moment.

                “Any ideas? I suppose the bigger they are, the harder they fall, but…” she said with a sigh.

                “LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR. HEROES TO THE PUBLIC, BUT IN PRIVATE? WE SHALL SEE. YOU SHALL BE JUDGED!” the woman spoke, twisting to swing the sword towards Ladybug, the beam of the sword arcing wide and letting out a loud ‘thunnnnn’ noise as it did. The curve of light slashed into the building, cutting into the roof and sending tiles and shards of mortar everywhere. The hero dove to avoid the swing, skidding on the roof, sliding towards the edge.

                “Ladybug!” Chat exclaimed, extending his staff to allow him to vault over to the other roof, catching her before she slid off completely.

                “Thank you, Chat! She’s dangerous! We need to clear the school as soon as possible!” she said. “Can you distract her for a few minutes while everyone escapes?” she asked.

                “It would be an honour and a pleasure, apple of my eye! That way, it’ll be Justice against just us!” he said with a smirk.

                “Chat!” Ladybug snapped, glaring up at him. Before either could speak, the sword swung again, letting out the same loud noise. Both heroes dove away, as more of the building was carved up by slash.

                “YOU WILL NOT EVADE FOREVER. JUSTICE IS ABSOLUTE,” the giant woman snapped, as Ladybug hopped down through the broken roof, and Chat spun his baton, ready to take the woman on.

                “I think the jury’s still out on that one!” he said with glee, taking off at high speed across the roof as the woman readied her sword for another strike.

 

                “This is bad, this is really, really bad!” Juleka mumbled as she and Alya ran through the halls, as the building rumbled and creaked around them. Glass shards from the broken windows crunched underfoot as the two girls ran through the dusty corridors. Rumbles and crashes could be heard, as Justice roared and rumbled as she tried to catch the elusive Chat Noir. They watched through the windows as Ladybug began herding people out of the entrance to the school, keeping herself between them and the monstrous woman. Alya couldn’t help but smile, swelling with pride that that woman, that hero, had chosen her over everyone she could, over everyone else, to be close to.

                “Come on, I think I saw Rose get-“ Alya began, as a loud text alert came through on Juleka’s phone. The girl checked, and her run began to slow to a walk.

                “Alya… she’s trapped in the cooking lab. She says the door’s covered in rubble. We have to help her!” Juleka said, looking back to the stairs they had just passed. Alya halted, and stared at her.

                “Juleka, that’s… Yeah, OK, let’s go. But we have to be quick, Ladybug will tell us to go if she finds us, and I don’t want to have to go against her words. I mean, I will, nothing’s gunna change that, but I’ll probably feel worse about doing it now,” she said, smiling back at the woman. She jogged past her, and began to descend. Juleka smiled faintly, and followed on after her at a decent jog. They picked their way through the rubble and fallen stones, over twisted pieces of wood which were presumably the window frames, and picked their way over loose tile to avoid slipping, until they came to the room which had the cookers in it. As they got to the window, another loud boom echoed around them, and the roof near the room began to collapse in on itself.

                “Jules!” Alya shrieked, trusting an arm upwards at the falling rubble. It shuddered to a halt as a large glyph appeared in shimmering purple light, two thick bars inside a circle. Juleka ducked out of the way, and the glyph faded, causing the stone shards to continue falling.

                “Thank you!” the tall girl said, before heading back to the wall. “Rose!? Are you in there?” she cried out, leaning over the broken window as Alya began to knock out the worst bits of glass with her sleeve.

                “Juleka? Juleka, you came for me! Oh, you wonderful fool! Why did you risk yourself for me?” Rose called out, crawling out from under one of the benches, which had huge chunks of rubble on it. She ran over to them, grasping the girl’s outstretched hands tightly.

                “B-B-because I… I…” Juleka stammered.

                “Calm,” Alya whispered, touching the girl’s back gently.

                “Because… I don’t think I would be OK with leaving you at risk without at least trying to save you. Because… you’re more important to me than my own safety. Rose… I’m…” she said, taking a deep gasp of air. “I’m in love with you. I have been for the longest time. I’m so sorry that I kept this from you, I was so scared that I might… might scare you off, or… or… Rose?” Juleka asked, halting as she noticed the girl beginning to sob. The blonde, who Alya was ashamed to admit had devastatingly won the puberty lottery, having grown to be as tall as she was, and perhaps even a tiny bit more well-endowed, had hugged herself against Juleka’s arm, and was cuddling into her, sobbing with a smile on her face.

                “You finally told me!” Rose said, nuzzling against Juleka’s shoulder. The tall girl had never looked less pale than in that moment, her skin was positively ruby with her blush. “I love you too! Of course I love you! You’re my Juleka!” she said, pushing herself up on tiptoes to kiss the girl’s cheek, brushing the overhanging purple hair from over her eye.

                “Rose!” Juleka all but squeaked.

                “I’m so happy for you two! Really, I am. But. Uh.” Alya mumbled, as she slowly turned to the courtyard windows. A large face was looming over them, blindfolded, but filled with anger.

                “DECEPTION UPON LIES. YOU WILL ALL BE JUDGED,” she roared, rearing back to lash into the building with the sword. It was only the skilful and well timed throw of Ladybug’s indomitable yo-yo that saved the three girls from their pain.

                “Leave them alone, Justice! Court is in session, and I’m your witness!” Ladybug yelled, landing on the ground in front of the giantess.

                “Ladybug!” Rose exclaimed.

                “Alya! Juleka! I need your help. I can’t concentrate on her to figure out her weak point. I may need your… skills,” she said, glancing from Juleka to Alya, regret heavy in her eyes.

                “Tell us what you need! It’s OK. I think Rose will understand,” Alya said, catching Juleka’s eye. The girl nodded faintly.

                “I’m confused… what do you mean, Ladybug?” Rose asked.

                “We need to find somewhere quiet. Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan,” the masked superhero said, smiling brightly despite the ragged look of her hair and the nicks and scrapes on her face.


	19. The cat's out of the bag!

                “Um... My lady? Any time soon with some help up here!” Chat called out as he ducked and dodged around the akuma’s vicious swipes.

                “Tut tut Chat! And here, I’d thought I’d told you to stop calling me that,” Ladybug spoke from the rubble, idly teasing her yo-yo down and up, pacing carefully but with purpose. “Justice! Your term is up! Give up!” she called out. The akuma shifted its focus downwards, lowering its sword so that the point was directed at Ladybug.

                “YOU WOULD THINK TO COMMAND JUSTICE ITSELF? YOU NAÏVE FOOL!” it boomed, holding the sword high in the air. A colossal wooden gavel appeared above the girl, ready to strike. “JUDGEMENT!” the woman bellowed, and the gavel came down. And then stopped, a dozen or so feet from the girl.

                “You know what they say, don’t judge a book by its cover. Or a girl!” a voice said from behind the akuma. Ladybug stood there, yo-yo twirling around fast enough it was a blur.

                “Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Do we have a time traveller among us again? Two Ladybugs, could my day get any better?” Chat said with a giggle, as the new Ladybug launched herself upwards, kicking the sword from Justice’s hand. She brought her foot down upon the weapon, and it cracked, before breaking, but no smoky butterfly emerged from it.

                “It’s not the sword? Oh… WATCH OUT!” the woman cried out, turning to face her doppelganger. The woman nodded, leaping backwards as the tiny purple glyph that had appeared under the gavel faded, letting it swing towards the ground.

                “EVEN WITHOUT A BLADE, JUSTICE IS ABSOLUTE!” the huge woman roared, gesturing forwards with the scales. A dozen similar wooden gavels appeared, and began to converge on all three heroes.

                “Chat! It’s her scale!” the first Ladybug called out, gesturing with her hand, imitating the movements the Akuma was making.

                “Got it, My Lady. Or is it My Other Lady?” the feline super hero said with a chuckle, kicking himself up into the air, spinning his staff before bringing it down on the woman’s arm. She let out a roar of pain, but did not break the hold she had on the balance.

                “Lucky Charm!” the second ladybug called out, wincing that the deception was about to end.

 

                “So, let me see if I have everything. Juleka has powers, and can make herself, and other people, look like other people. Alya has powers, which can make people and things stop and go. Ladybug, you want Alya to look like you, to act as a decoy, so you can get a surprise attack on the Akuma?” Rose said, listing things off on her fingers. “Also, Alya confessed to me, who was really Juleka, but she wasn’t actually confessing, and Juleka me ran away before it could all be explained,” she added.

                “That’s right, normally I would wait whut?” Ladybug said, her face falling as she turned to look at Alya.

                “Long story LB. I know you’d never do this otherwise, but I guess you need my powers for a big plan? And they need to be close by?” the brown haired girl said. Ladybug nodded her head slowly.

                “I’m sorry. I hate to ask you to…” she began.

                “No big thing! I’m honoured, actually, that you trust me to help,” Alya replied, smiling warmly.

                “Juleka, this is so impressive! I didn’t know you knew Ladybug! Or that you had powers!” Rose exclaimed, hugging the girl’s arm to make her blush.

                “W-well, i-it had to be kept s-secret, for safety reasons,” the tall girl mumbled.

                “Thank you for being so understanding!” Ladybug said to Rose, who nodded.

                “You’re welcome. But, I worry about something in this plan. If the illusion on Alya fades, everyone will know that it was her. I have an idea…” she said, reaching into her bag.

 

                Alya felt Juleka’s illusion fall as she watched the gavels strike around Ladybug. Juleka and Rose had remained hidden there, and she suspected that the attacks had gotten Rose scared, which had gotten Juleka flustered. Pulling herself up, she took a deep breath, and stepped forwards.

                “Hey! Biggie! If you really want to know the truth, you were fooled by none other than I! I am Miss Connection!” she exclaimed, long black makeshift cloak that had until a few minutes previously been rolls of fabric Rose had been intending to donate to Marinette. Her eyes were surrounded by dark green makeup, imitating the masks worn by Ladybug and Chat Noir, and Rose had even gone through the trouble to mark green patterns over her face, conveniently hiding her beauty mark.

                “WHO YOU ARE IS IRRELEVANT. YOU WILL FACE JUDGEMENT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE,” the Akuma boomed.

                “Miss! Now!” Ladybug shouted suddenly, as a large black and red Frisbee-like spinning disc soared around them.

                “WHAT?” Justice snapped, eyes widening beneath the blindfold. Alya thrust her hand towards the disc, forcing all her energy and focus into making the thing stop. The glyph appeared, and the disc halted in mid-air. Ladybug’s yo-yo soared after it, looping around it. The hero swung, launching herself up into the air, circling around the Akuma.

                “NO!” Justice roared, lashing out at Ladybug. She missed, but her gavel struck the floor above where Miss Connection was standing. Ladybug swung again, as rubble began to topple. The hero kicked at the scales, knocking them from the Akuma’s grasp as the first of the large chunks of masonry struck.

                “CHAT!” Ladybug screamed at the top of her voice, as the power holding the disc in the air vanished. She landed heavily, and clenched her eyes shut as yet more stone fell on the location her girlfriend had been in. The feline hero caught the scale, and with a yell, his matter evaporising touch did its job, dissolving the tool back into the necklace, and the smoky butterfly. Seconds later, the girl’s yo-yo zipped around, catching the bug inside it. She ran her finger over the outside wordlessly, and a purified butterfly emerged from it.

                “Miraculous Ladybug,” the girl spoke, without all of her enthusiasm or cheer, tossing the disc into the air. She stood, slowly turning around, as the world began to return to normal. She looked across the way, into the classroom that Miss Connection had returned to, and let out a heavy sigh.

 

                “Do you want to pound it, or is that out of bounds too?” the cat hero said as he dropped in beside the heroine.

                “Please Chat… not now…” she mumbled, fighting the tears in her eyes as she saw that the girl was safe.

                “Fine. I have to go anyway,” he said coarsely, launching himself back into the air. Ladybug began to walk slowly towards the classroom, entering it just as Miss turned to her.

                “A-are you OK?” Ladybug asked, and the girl nodded with a smile, pulling out a wipe to clear the makeup from her face.

                “I’m fine! Hey, hey, look at me, babe, look at me. I’m fine, I’m safe, I’m not hurt. Oh my gosh, that was so cool! I was a real hero, fighting a real Akuma! I… Oh my god, babe!” Alya exclaimed, shedding the cloak and tossing the wipe as Ladybug began to cry in earnest.

                “I’m so sorry! I sh-shouldn’t have put you in danger! I was so scared! I’m sorry!” she sobbed, as Alya pulled her against her chest tightly.

                “Hey, come on now. You were amazing! You took out that huge Akuma! I’m so proud of you!” Alya cooed gently, pulling back just enough to brush the tears from the woman’s mask covered cheeks. Ladybug looked up at her, sniffing and whimpering.

                “’m so proud of you! You were the amazing one. You were so brave, so cool,” she mumbled, smiling weakly as Alya beamed back at her. The feeling of being close to her girlfriend made her ignore the incessant beeping in her ear.

                “Really? You’re proud of me? Awwwww, hehehe, I’m really not all that, I’m no Ladybug,” she said with a grin. “I dunno if you’ve heard, but she’s Paris’s most awesome superhero. I hear she’s the coolest gal in the whole city!” she said, nuzzling the girl’s cheek teasingly. Ladybug giggled gently, squeaking when the girl hit her sensitive spots.

                “You’re such a flatterer! I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve you,” she said back to the maskless girl, who blushed a little, and took a faint breath.

                “W-well, I know what you can do to keep me,” she whispered back.

                “Oh?”

                “K-kiss me,” she breathed. Ladybug did not need to be told a second time. She pressed forwards, hands sliding easily around Alya’s waist as the brunette’s hands slid up and over her shoulders. Pushing up on her toes slightly, Ladybug’s nose brushed against Alya’s, before teasing past it. The hero tilted her head ever so slightly, quivering as the girl’s breath escaped her lips, warmth spreading across her face as she inched closer and closer. Cheek touched cheek and lip touched lip, and the whole world stopped. For a moment, a glorious, electrified, dizzying moment, both girls were in heaven. The air fizzled around them as the beeping finally ceased, and Ladybug’s costume dissolved away in a flash of pink, and still neither girl cared. After what seemed an eternity, Alya gently pulled back from Marinette, gentle gasps for air her sole intent to the movement. She was quickly back against the girl, more eager and aggressive this time, her lips parting to allow her tongue to eagerly slide against Marinette’s lips, hand snaking down her body to rest upon her hips.

                “Mmh! A-Alya!” Marinette squeaked, pulling back from her with a giggle, her cheeks red. Alya cocked her hip, smirking back at the girl, biting her lip teasingly.

                “What? I was only following instructions from… yo… uuh…” she began, before halting. Marinette looked up at her curiously, before turning to follow the girl’s stunned gaze. Stood at the door, his mouth agape and his eyes filled with tears, was Adrien. Before either girl could react, he twisted away from the door, and began to run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And on that bombshell... it's time for another little hiatus! Things are getting hectic for me at the moment and I'm not as far ahead of the story as I'd like to be, so I will be taking a short break to catch back up on my buffer. expect a continuation around the beginning of June.
> 
> I love each and every one of you for reading this far, you are all wonderful, beautiful people <3


	20. The Fallen Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiatus over! Quicker than I was expecting, but I'm almost certain I can be finished without another delay now. Once again, expect weekly updates Wednesday or Thursday, depending on my work shift. Enjoy, and thank you all so much for sticking with this story <3

                “Babe, calm, you need to stop worrying. So someone saw you transform, it’s not, I mean, OK, it is a pretty big deal but come on, it’s Adrien! He’s, like, the nicest guy in school! He’s not gunna tell anyone!” Alya said, looking up at Marinette as she paced around her room. Ever since the Akuma attack she had been worrying about the accidental reveal to the boy. Adrien had seemingly vanished from the school, and, through trial and error, they found out that he had been picked up by limo not too far from the school, and taken home.

                “Alya’s right, Marinette. And besides, there’s nothing you can do right now, you’ve tried to call him and his phone is turned off,” Tikki said, brushing up against the dark haired girl’s cheek comfortingly. Marinette let out a sigh, and nodded her head weakly.

                “I guess… but what if… what if this storm thingy makes him do something weird? Why was he crying, Alya? Arrrrgh, this is making me feel so weird! It doesn’t feel right!” the girl lamented, tugging at her hair.

                “Girl, chill! You can talk to him tomorrow. We all can. There’s no use getting worked up over it now, when you can do nothing about it. And here,” Alya said, standing up and pulling the girl against her.

                “Are you… pulling my head against your boobs?” Marinette asked after a few moments.

                “Maagic soothing boobs,” Alya whispered, stroking the girl’s hair gently. Marinette, despite herself, let out a little giggle as she broke from the embrace. She pouted faintly, but Alya’s knowing smirk and her faint blush made Marinette break down into giggles.

                “Damnit Alya, that’s not fair! How am I supposed to stay panicked and neurotic when I have you around?” she said with a smile.

                “I know, right?” Alya replied, poking the girl on the nose. “Now, didn’t you say something about a patrol tonight?” she asked, cocking her hip.

                “AH! That’s right! Although, I guess it is a little pointless considering we had an Akuma today. But, still, it would be good to show people that we’re still around,” she said.

                “Perfect! I’ve got this great idea for my costume, and I’m pretty sure with your makeup I can replicate Rose’s… I’m not going, am I?” Alya began, before looking at Marinette’s confused expression.

                “Alya… as much as I would love it, and believe me, I would love nothing more than to spend my evenings with you right now, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to you while on patrol,” she said, glancing aside.

                “Is it… do you not trust me?” Alya asked, her brow furrowing.

                “NO! I mean, yes! I mean, arrgh, Alya, I trust you so much! I would put my life in your hands in an instant! It’s me! I don’t trust myself to keep you safe if you happened to get into trouble,” she said hurriedly, arms flailing around. Alya let out a giggle, and took hold of the girl’s arms, holding them together above her head.

                “Good. Because I would hate to think you didn’t trust me,” she breathed, leaning in closer to the girl. Marinette blushed brightly, wiggling in the girl’s grip. Alya leaned in and pressed a delicate kiss to the girl’s neck, her teeth teasing Marinette’s skin just enough to leave a faint mark which would not fade for a few minutes. “Now go keep your city safe,” she said, releasing the girl with a sly grin. Flustered and blushing profusely, Marinette activated her miraculous, and launched herself from her balcony.

 

                “How could I have been so stupid!? The pigtails, those eyes, the height, the weight! Of course Marinette is Ladybug! Plagg! Did you know?” Adrien snapped as he stalked around his room. The sun had long since set and he was walking around in almost complete darkness.

                “Well, the thing is…” the black kwami began.

                “ **Did you know!?** ” the boy screamed, lunging forwards to grab the creature out of the air. Plagg struggled for a moment in the boy’s grip, looking up at him.

                “I knew. But what good would it have done? Marinette literally confessed to you like a week ago and you didn’t even consider being with her over being with Ladybug!” he replied. The grip on him loosened, as the boy stumbled forwards, collapsing onto his hands and knees.

                “Oh god… Ladybug confessed to me. She wanted me, and I said no. I said no, and now, she’s… she kissed Alya! Ladybug kissed Alya!” he wailed, slumping to his side. Vivid memories passed in front of his eyes. As Chat Noir, he had found a hidden area and detransformed, and was making his way back to where he thought Nino would be when he came across Ladybug and the heroine who had helped them defeat the Akuma. As he watched, first the heroine revealed herself as Alya, then the two women drew close, kissing one another passionately. That alone had torn his heart out, but when the pink glow appeared and Ladybug’s costume vanished, he felt utterly devastated. Ladybug had been so close to him all that time, and he’d known nothing.

                “AAARRRGGH!” the boy roared, slamming his fist into the floor.

                “Look, kid, you need to calm down… what the bug said about the storm might not…” Plagg began, but he stopped as Adrien flashed a glare across at him.

                “Calm? **Calm!?** The love of my life is slipping through my fingers, and you want me to stay calm? How would you know anything about this? How could you possibly know what it’s like to be in love?” he snapped angrily, his head swirling with emotion. He wanted to cry, and scream, and roar, and punch and kick and make the whole world feel how he was feeling. As the clocks of the house struck midnight, Plagg descended towards the boy, his green eyes glowing fiercely.

                “Do not dare to tell me that I do not feel love. I have known loves greater and more powerful than anything you humans can feel. You are allowing yourself to be overcome by your own emotions. If you do so again, the consequences will be dire,” the kwami snapped, its voice becoming somewhat echoey as it glared. Adrien remained with his head low, until he mumbled something. Plagg arched an eyebrow, and drifted closer.

                “To hell with you!” Adrien snapped, throwing his ring into the corner of his room.

                “Wait, kid, no! You’re too unstaaaaaaaa-!” Plagg said, as he was sucked into the ring, vanishing from sight. After a few minutes of silent sobbing, perpetrated by the occasional self-berating mumble, Adrien stalked over to the discarded ring. In his distracted state, he only barely noticed the purple butterfly settle on the ring as he picked it up.

                “A cruel heart deserves a cruel punishment, doesn’t it? And what crueller heart is there than one who leads you on only to spurn your advances when it does not suit them? Join me, Chat Sombre, and we can truly show the world what it feels like to have a broken heart! All it takes is one little pair of Miraculous. Bring me Ladybug’s earrings, and we shall rule this world together!” a malevolent voice, the voice of the city’s erstwhile villain, spoke within his mind. Dark shadows fell over his face as his hand slowly curled into a fist around the ring, which began erupting dark energy that quickly enveloped the boy.

                “She will pay!” he snarled, as his face was enveloped.

 

                Alya drummed her fingers idly as she stared at her computer. She had said her goodbyes to the Dupain-Chengs, and told them that Marinette was feeling tired from the Akuma attack, and was taking a nap. It would give her girlfriend a bit of time before she was suspected of anything. She returned home, giddily grinning at the thought of Marinette being her girlfriend, thinking of ways she could do something nice for the girl to reduce some of her stress. She spent some time with her parents, explaining her situation to her father, who, while gruff, seemed unphased by the revelation. Her sisters were enamoured with the idea, latching onto the fact that two girls dating meant two brides which meant two pretty dresses and two cakes, and while Alya was certainly not thinking wedding, she was certainly not going to ruin their fun. Eventually, she ventured to her room for some alone time, and found herself unable to sleep, which brought her to her desk, idly staring at the screen. She was about to shut it down when a chat window invite popped up. She shrugged, and clicked it idly.

 

                _MissLadyBlog_ has accepted invite to **CFD Akumasquad**

                MissLadyBlog: Hello?

                NiNope: Alya! Welcome to the chat!

                akeluJ: hey alya

                TimeBored: sup als!!!!

                MissLadyBlog: *rolls eyes* Those names are terrible. Let me guess, those were your idea Nino?

                NiNope: I have no idea what you’re talking about…

                TimeBored: LOL!! she called you out dude you got roasted

 

                “Well, this is going to be interesting. The kids with the latent akuma powers,” she mumbled to herself, shifting a little in her seat so that she could type more comfortably.

 

                akeluJ: yeaah he came up with them. they could use some work.

                NiNope: Ahem! If we could stop ripping on my cool names for a while and get back to the point... We use this chat to communicate when there’s an Akuma attack, we try to help out in little ways here and there, and I know you would want in on something like that…

                MissLadyBlog: You are not wrong, but I don’t like the ‘little ways’ thing. I think with what we can do we could absolutely be an asset to LB and CN.

                TimeBored: damnit now i owe nino ten euros

                Miss LadyBlog: ???

                akeluJ: Nino bet Alix that the first thing you’d do would be to try and make things more intense

                MissLadyBlog: *gasps* I have never been so insulted in all my life!

                _ThornlessRose_ has accepted invite to **CFD Akumasquad**

                akeluJ: Rose! You got the invite!

                ThornlessRose: I did! I looked at the email Nino sent me too, but I don’t think that I’ve had any strange dreams or occurrences.

                Alix: whoa that’s the fastest ive ever seen you type jules LOL!!

                NiNope: Hey Rose!

               

                And so it went on. Alya watched the chat for a little bit, marvelling at how Nino and Alix could hold a conversation while simultaneously talking about absolutely nothing. She halfway considered a drinking game for every time Nino used an ellipsis or whenever Alix used LOL!! She was just about to get changed for sleep, when her phone buzzed.

                _Unknown number:_ LB SOS! LB SOS!

 

                “Chat Noir! I wasn’t expecting you to be around tonight,” Ladybug called out as she caught sight of the dark figure with the mop of blonde hair.

                “And I wasn’t expecting to get my heart stepped on today, but much like you, life’s a bitch isn’t it?” the figure spoke, his voice gravelly and hoarse. Ladybug’s approach to him slowed, and she paced carefully, hand falling to her yo-yo instinctively.

                “Um… what’re you talking about kitty?” she asked quietly. The male turned slowly, and she let out a gasp. His mask was a mix of black and green, and covered more of his skin, giving his eyes an eerie green glow. Everything about him seemed more intense, the ears were taller, the charming little things like the belt buckles and the bell had vanished, and his claws seemed just a bit more prominent, a little longer and a little sharper. The costume itself seemed to be made not of material but of a wispy black smoke, and it twisted and churned upon his body as he began to pace towards her.

                “I’m talking about a girl who confessed her love to me, only to tell me the next day that she did not want me. A girl who spent years of her life unable to talk to me because of her crush, only, poof, she suddenly isn’t interested in me in the slightest. I’m talking about you, Marinette!” he growled, baton appearing out of nowhere as he lunged towards her. She leaped backwards, avoiding the swing of the stick as it sailed past her chin. The next strike was just as quick, and she couldn’t avoid taking a glancing impact to her thigh as she rolled away.

                “What? I don’t… How did you… what’s happened to you, Chat? Who are you?” she pleaded with him as she hopped backwards, avoiding his third strike.

                “Who the hell do you think I am? Whose heart did you obliterate earlier when you kissed Alya?” he snarled, lunging with the staff held like a sword.

                “Oh… Oh no. Oh nonononono! Adrien!? You’re Adrien, and you’re Chat! And you’re… akumatised? Because of that? You… oh my god, you were in love with me, with this me, but… not Marinette…” she said, backpedalling and blocking the strikes with her toy weapon.

                “Hah! Exactly! Dopey, flustered, dorky Marinette, clumsy to a fault, naïve and oh so trusting. Who would have thought that you were the brave, heroic, selfless Ladybug! But imagine my surprise when I saw you locking lips with that… that… fake hero! She is nothing without Hawkmoth! Her latent abilities would never have awoken without him… and you would never have been interested in her without me. Face it, Bugaboo. You and her, you’re a fleeting fancy. You and me are destined to be together! Two sides of the same coin!” he said, as he lashed out at her. Ladybug managed to loop her yo-yo around his baton, and pulled it free of his grasp. It flew off the building, clattering onto the street below.

                “You ‘re wrong, Adrien! Alya and I… it’s not something that will just go away. I’m not interested in her for her powers, or because she’s interested in me, or whatever he’s telling you. I love her, because of who she is, and because of what she does. She-” she said, interrupted by a cloud of black smoke thundering past her, slamming into the brick chimney behind her. The masonry began to crackle and sizzle, dissolving at the touch of the smoke, which seemed to have erupted from his arm, forming a solid block of smoke from the akuma to the stone.

                “Sombre Cataclysm. My body **is** the Cataclysm now! One touch means decay,” he said with a cackle, glancing over the edge of the roof at the baton with a shrug. “Much more effective than a little metal stick, don’t you think?” he said. Ladybug gripped onto her yo-yo tightly, her heart pounding against her chest. The man took a step forwards, and halted, twitching as though someone had spoken in his ear. “Hmph! I said I would do this my way. Hah! And do what? Release the owner of the Cat miraculous from your supposed thrall?” he said, seemingly to no-one.

                “Adrien… you have to still be in there somewhere… please fight this,” Ladybug said.

                “Shut up! Adrien is dead, Chat Sombre is all that remains! Little bug, you would do well to remember this. I do not want to see this city destroyed. I’m not some idiot who was slighted by dear Chloe over a latte or a cheap trinket. You broke my heart. I want to break you,” he said, stepping in closer, so that his lips were mere inches from her ear. “And I will take great pleasure in breaking you over and over again, Marinette,” he whispered. He stepped away from her, and ran towards the opposite end of the roof. Once he leaped, his legs seemed to vanish, disappearing into a cloud of black smoke, which soared off into the night sky, leaving Ladybug alone on the rooftop, shaken by the event.


	21. Impulse

                The heat had returned, but it was different than before. The previous heat was like a pressure, a feeling that invaded every space and every crevice. This heat was like a million needles, each one a point of intense heat, poking at her skin. It had begun the moment Marinette had woken from her slumber, the moment that Alya had reached the place she could feel was close to her destination.

                “I will admit, I did not anticipate her accepting you. Nor you accepting yourself,” a mysterious voice spoke, a voice that had mocked her when she first began her quest. Alya glared up at the sky, which was dark.

                “Who are you? You are different to the mouth in the sky. You do not belittle me,” she called out.

                “I am your calling and your calamity. I am your destruction and your destination. Find me, before I find you,” the voice spoke. A growl sounded from behind the girl, and she twisted as best she could with the barely conscious Marinette on her back.

                “The mouth in the sky? Hah! I am far more than that, you fool. I am a shadow! I am a storm!” a voice spoke from the shadows, as the mouth emerged from them. The shadow then began to detach from the rocks, solidifying and massing together, forming a colossal humanoid figure which slouched down onto all fours, massive tendril-like claws digging into the ground. The green eyes and the black teeth leered down at Alya as she stood her ground, glaring back up at them.

                “You are not going to break me,” she snapped, as wisps of darkness curled around her ankles. The creature gurgled a laugh as it shifted around.

                “I do not need to break you, you silly little girl, playing with powers far beyond your knowledge. I need only break her,” it said, pointing a claw at the girl on Alya’s back, who pulled back a little, hiding behind the girl.

                “You are still safe, don’t worry,” Alya whispered to the girl as she began to grip her tighter. Marinette nodded her head, a nervous smile gracing her lips.

                “ **Hmph! Idiots! Your doom comes soon!** ” the creature roared, rearing upwards. Alya raised her arm upwards, her eyes glowing purple as the creature slammed back down into the ground, dissipating all around her and her charge. Once the smoke had cleared, Alya paced to a nearby rock, and gently let the girl down.

                “Are you alright?” she whispered, cupping the girl’s cheek in her palm.

                “Mmhm,” Marinette mumbled quietly, closing her eyes as she rested her head against Alya’s hand. Moments passed, and the girl was sleeping soundly. Alya nodded to herself, and took in a soft breath, before delicately scooping the girl into her arms, and, grimacing against the heat, pushed on once more.

                “I will keep you safe, I promise,” she whispered, pacing onwards.

                “But who will keep you safe?” Marinette mumbled as she shifted against Alya’s back. She felt a sharp pain to the side of her spine, and winced, reaching round to feel a sodden wetness against her clothing. Her fingers continued to move until they reached the source of the pain, a small shard of rock that had been stabbed into her skin.

                “Wh-why?” she mumbled, as she stumbled forwards. She slipped to her knees, and Marinette fell forwards, and Alya was only just able to twist her back in time to stop the girl falling onto the sharp shard.

                “To keep you alert. To warn you. To test you,” Marinette replied, piercing blue gaze locked on Alya’s eyes. The dark haired girl reached forwards again, and grabbed the shard, forcing it in deeper. Alya awoke with a cry of pain, clutching at her back where the pain had been in the dream. She blinked as she glanced around the fuzzy room, her hand seeking her glasses on her table, but she could not seem to find them. An idea struck her, and she began hunting around on the bed where she had been lying. She found the frames, and some small shards of glass nearby. She lifted the frames up, peering through the one good lens at the remnants on the bed.

                “Well, that explains that part of the dream…” she mumbled to herself, pacing to the bathroom to check her body for blood.

 

                “So, I’ve been looking around online, seems like there was no reported akuma attack last night,” Alya said as she rested her phone on her shoulder. She was tying Etta’s shoelaces and trying to pack her bag whilst being in the call at the same time.

                “Alya, I know what I saw!” Marinette said on the other side of the call. Alya rolled her eyes at the exasperated girl, smiling to herself.

                “There you go, all done,” she said patting the youngster on the head. “I know you do girl, I believe you. I know I’d’ve probably gone supernova in that situation. I’m just… stunned is all. You all but burst into my room last night, drop the bombshell of Chat Noir’s identity followed swiftly by the second bombshell of him being akumatised… it’s all a bit much. All I’m saying is, whatever happened, he clearly didn’t go anywhere else. I gotta go, I’m on sisters duty today. Wanna meet me in fifteen, we could walk together? OK, see you then. Bye babe!” she said, hanging up the call once Marinette had said her goodbye.

                “You are taking that blog too far again,” Alya’s father Otis rumbled from the far side of the room. He glanced at her from over his paper, and she gave him a big, cheesy grin.

                “Sorry Papa, but you know me, super sleuth Alya always gets her scoop!” she said, practically skipping over to him to give him a soft hug, quickly followed by Etta and Ella. The girls left the house shortly after, and met Marinette near the school. The girls walked to the sisters school, before linking hands on their walk back to the College.

                “Alya… I’m really concerned about what I saw last night. Adrien was… he was so filled with anger and hate, and it was directed right at me… did I… could I have done something different? Maybe I shouldn’t’ve confessed to him, maybe I should’ve… I don’t know, I don’t know!” Marinette whimpered as she clung tightly to her girlfriend’s hand. Alya nodded her head weakly, wishing desperately that she could say or do something that would settle her panic.

                “What did Tikki say about it?” she asked.

                “Tikki has not said a word to me since the incident. She curled up into a ball after I detransformed and wouldn’t speak to me, and she’s been sleeping since last night. Alya, I’m really scared about all this,” Marinette said, slowing to a halt. “I could barely keep things together alongside Chat, without him, fighting an Akuma as powerful as he is, I… I can’t do this alone,” she said. Alya turned to face her, pulling her into a gentle hug, pressing her lips to the girls cheek lightly.

                “Girl, you are absolutely not alone you hear me! You’ve got the CFD Akumasquad! We’ve got your back!” she said with a grin.

                “Akumasquad? What?” Marinette said, looking confused.

                “OK, so, I’ve been chatting with Nino, Rose, Alix and Juleka. We think that other kids in the class might have latent abilities too, so, we’re gunna help them get more control of them. A whole squad of former akuma with special abilities and powers, all ready and willing to help you out! Of course, none of them know you are Ladybug, other than Jules, and you’re one of only tw… you’re the only person in class never to have been Akumatised, so I couldn’t exactly link you in on it all, but… ta dah. You’ve got allies,” she said, smiling weakly. Marinette looked at the girl earnestly, and collapsed against her, hugging her tightly.

                “Thank you for thinking of me, Alya, but I can’t ask anyone else to step in for me. I have to face Chat alone,” she said quietly. She pulled back to see Alya’s expression, and her heart fell. This was clearly not the last she would hear of this.

 

                “Alya, please, will you just drop it, I’m not going to change my mind,” Marinette said, exasperated, as she entered the classroom.

                “Exactly! Because you’re being so stubborn you can’t even see how good an idea this is!” Alya retorted, dashing past her to face her as she walked backwards.

                “Alya, please! I…Adrien!” she squeaked, halting as she looked over at the boy who was sat in his normal seat, flipping through his schedule idly. Alya swivelled on her heels, and hopped to the side to place herself between him and Marinette, keeping an arm in front of her defensively.

                “Stay back pretty boy!” Alya snapped, glaring at him. The boy seemed not to react, instead scribbling something into the schedule, closing it with a satisfied smile.

                “Good morning Marinette, Alya. A nice day today, isn’t it?” he said, pushing himself up onto his feet. Both girls took an instinctive step backwards as he casually rested his rear on the desk and slid forwards, landing with poise and grace.

                “Hello Adrien… are you… feeling OK?” Marinette asked cautiously.

                “Never felt better, thank you. I feel like a whole weight has been lifted from my shoulders, a stifling, oppressive weight that had held me back until now. Can you guess what that was, Marinette?” he said, looking past Alya like she wasn’t even there. The boy’s gaze flicked towards the door as the rest of the class began to file in, a devilish smile gracing his lips.

                “No?” Marinette said, barely above a whisper.

                “You’ll figure it out. That’s what you do after all. Figure out how to make the best of a situation. The best for you, anyway,” he said, voice turning into a growl for all but a moment. His gaze again flicked to the door as Chloe pushed it aside, and his grin grew exponentially. “Marinette! I’ve been thinking about this for a long time now!” he said, raising his voice so that everyone could hear him clearly. “I cannot get you out of my mind! You are the shining sun on a beautiful day, you are the one, the only that I can hold in my heart! I love you, Marinette! Will you do me the honour of becoming my girlfriend? I’m positively **mad** about you,” he went on, the last few words said much quieter, to her and Alya alone. Marinette’s face grew redder and redder as he spoke, prickles of tears forming in her eyes, as Chloe’s face matched hers in hue, but it was with anger that her skin bristled.

                “I… I…” Marinette stammered, backing away from him, as Alya turned to her.

                “What is going on here!? Marinette Dupain-Cheng? What have you done to brainwash my Adrikins?” Chloe roared, causing Marinette to shrink away from the bundle of rage as well.

                “Mari…” Alya said, desperate to reach out to the girl.

                “Why won’t you answer, Marinette? Is it possible that you are already dating someone else? Why, no, that can’t be, you would have told at least one of us. Nino, do you know if Marinette is dating someone?” Adrien asked, gesturing to the male, who pulled his headphones up and the hood of his jacket upwards.

                “Bro...” he muttered.

                “Kim? Did you know that Marinette was dating someone? No? Mylene, has she told you anything? No? Huh. That’s all very strange,” he said, turning to finally look Alya in the eye, devilish grin still present on his lips.

                “Just what are you trying to pull here, Agreste?” Alya snapped, glaring at him, thrusting a finger against his chest. In a lightning fast movement, the boy grabbed her finger and twisted it in such a way that it began causing her quite considerable pain, but none that she would instantly react to.

                “Shut up if you want to keep all your bones intact, you little witch,” he growled in a whisper, pushing her backwards slightly.

                “ **Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I demand that you apologise to Adrien and me immediately!** ” Chloe bellowed, barely being restrained by Sabrina. Adrien took the opportunity to step back from Alya, gasping softly.

                “Really? Surely if she’s not even told you, Alya, then, she would have no reason to deny my offer. Unless, of course, she were lying to everyone?” he said, smirking faintly. He felt a presence beside him, and twisted, then had to look down to look at Alix, who had also managed to get between him and Marinette.

                “Because there’s noooo way she’d just not be attracted to you, blue eyes? Every girl is gaga for the model, yeah?” she snapped angrily, bunching her hands into fists.

                “Kubdel are you threatening my Adrikins? I will have father ban you from every single building I enter, you irritating goblin!” Chloe barked. Meanwhile, Marinette was backing even further into the corner, her tears rolling down her cheeks. Mylene said something in defense of the tiny girl, which Kim then chuckled at and made an asinine comment about. This in turn brought Ivan into the argument, and soon, everyone was yelling at everyone.

                “ **Stooooop!!** ” a loud voice yelled from the back of the classroom. Everyone, including Adrien, stopped, turning to the source of the voice. Rose was stood on her desk, holding a roll of paper in her hand as a makeshift megaphone. “Stop all this fighting! It’s not right, we shouldn’t be snapping at one another! Alya, Marinette, I’m sorry, but… Adrien, Marinette is dating Alya. I saw them holding hands, and kissing, on the way to school. I don’t know where this has come from or why everyone is suddenly hating everyone else, but please, can’t you all just calm down and take a moment,” she said, cupping her hands together. The class remained in silence for a few moments, as everyone began sheepishly glancing around the room.

                “What even brought this on, man? I thought you were sweet for Ladybug,” Nino said eventually, breaking the silence.

                “Ah, well, that’s the most devastating part. Yesterday, I discovered something quite interesting. You see, Marinette here, is none other tha-” he began, before halting. In fact, everything about him stopped, frozen in time as a large purple glowing circle and twin bars hovered in front of his face. Eyes widened as everyone turned towards Alya, whose eyes were haloed in the same purple light.

                “Uh… Whoa! Look at that bird!” she yelled, pointing out the window. In the confusion, a few people did actually turn, during which time the girl grabbed hold of Marinette and practically dragged her to the door. In their haste, she pushed past Chloe, shaking the girl from her stunned silence.

                “You… I… that light! I recognise that! YOU! Get back here, Cesaire!!!” she screamed.

 

                “That was such an idiotic, impulse, thoughtless, **dumbass** thing to do! What were you even thinking, using your powers in front of everyone! In front of an **Akuma!** ” Marinette shrieked at Alya once they had managed to find a suitable hiding place. Alya panted faintly, peaking around the corner to check that no-one was following them, before letting out a little chuckle.

                “You’re welcome,” she said, poking her tongue out. “Remind me again, which is more important, everyone finding out that I have a weird ability, or the world finding out exactly who the heroic saviour of Paris really is?” she said, huffing with faux indignation. She was not expecting the girl to clamp onto her tightly, Marinette’s arms looping tightly around Alya’s waist as she rested her head on the taller girl’s shoulders.

                “YOU! Always you! You are more important to me!” she snapped, her voice muffled by Alya’s flannel shirt. Alya felt a shiver run through her body, giving her goosebumps and making her flustered and her cheeks turn pink. She pulled back from the hug just enough to get an arm between them. She delicately cupped Marinette’s chin on the flat of her pointer finger, her thumb resting just below Marinette’s lips.

                “Nothing is more precious or important in this world than you,” she whispered in response, leaning in to kiss the girl firmly. Marinette squeaked, and went weak at the knees, collapsing against the girl as she moaned into the kiss. Alya’s eyes slowly closed as she let her hand fall to Marinette’s chin, then over her shoulder to her side. Her hands then moved around to Marinette’s back as the dark haired girl pulled her in tighter. It took every ounce of self-control she had to stop her hand from moving down and cupping the girl’s rear. Heavy footsteps ran nearby, and Alya’s eyes widened, and she pulled Marinette backwards, both girls stumbling further into the shadows of the unlit and unused classroom.

                “Phew! That was close,” Marinette whispered once they had broken the kiss. Alya nodded weakly, unable to fully articulate the sensations going through her head as she gasped for her breath. “We can’t stay here, not right now. Dang, I really wish Tikki would talk to me!”

                “Yeah well sometimes you have to figure shit out on your own!!” a tiny voice snapped from inside Marinette’s bag. Both girls peeked inside to see the tiny red and black creature curled up, its eyes reddened with tears and black bags under its eyes.

                “Tikki… I don’t…” Marinette mumbled weakly.

                “Yeah, exactly, you never do! Dumbass!” she snapped, grabbing Marinette’s eyeliner and throwing it up at the girls. They both stared as the creature groaned, and shuffled to face away from them.

                “Well… at least she’s talking to me?” Marinette mumbled weakly. Alya took the girl’s hand, and gave it a squeeze.

                “Hmm…” Alya mumbled, her mind racing. “Miss Tikki, are you… worried about your counterpart with Chat Noir?” she asked.

                “You **think!?** ” the little creature snapped.

                “Oh my gosh! Tikki, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even think to ask. It was Plagg, you told me once? Is he OK?” she asked.

                “I don’t **know** OK! Ever since we got back I’ve been trying to feel his presence but it’s just **gone!** Plagg… my sweet stinky prince…” Tikki said, letting out a gentle sob.

                “Is there any way we could find out? I mean, other than beating the tar out of Chat Sombre and smacking Hawkmoth’s Akuma to kingdom come?” Alya said, trying to raise the creatures spirits.

                “Mnn, no, only Wayzz can observe other Kwami to that degree. And he and I, well…” Tikki mumbled.

                “Wayzz is another Kwami. I’ve only met him once, but he was… not polite to Tikki. I think they have a history,” Marinette whispered. Another thunderous set of footfalls rattled past them, as the girls ducked down under the windows of the classroom.

                “Well, we need to discuss this somewhere else. Wanna try that new coffee place on the far bank?” Alya said, adding “I hear they do excellent Madeleines,” in a teasing voice, noticing a visible twitch from the sulking Kwami.

 

                “I see. I thought I recognised her power in the midst of the fight yesterday, along with several others too. This is very interesting,” the disembodied voice of Hawkmoth spoke to Adrien as he stalked through the halls of the school. The pause upon him had lasted only until Alya had left the room and moved far enough away from him, and once he had realised what happened, he had given up his feeble pretence and ran after them, leaving the rest of the class in a confused uproar.

                “I still say you should leave this to me! Your plan is ridiculous; you are relying on an assumption on top of an assumption. Attacking that old man was pointless,” Adrien snapped back, a purple butterfly shaped halo around his eyes.

                “Keep up the attitude and I will show you the full extent of my powers!” Hawkmoth growled back at him. Adrien rolled his eyes and chuckled.

                “I’m sure you will, and placing the Miraculous of Destruction at risk is a very good plan,” he said, in a mock sympathetic tone.

                “Impudent brat! If you had followed my instruction we would already be in possession of both Miraculouses!” Hawkmoth snapped back.

                “And as I told you before, I am helping you only on the condition that I get to choose how to break Ladybug. It’s not just about stealing the earrings, or forcing her to give them to me. I want her utterly devastated; I want her despairing and weeping at me feet! I don’t just want her to give up the earrings, I want her to give up being Ladybug!” Adrien said, a dark smile spreading across his face.

                “Ahhh. Then you are going to enjoy the next part of my plan. What better way to use the Fox Miraculous than to return it to its, aha, former owner,” Hawkmoth said. Adrien’s smirk grew even wider as realisation dawned on him.

                “Ohh, you want me to release **her** , don’t you? I must admit, teaming up with her will be a wonderful extra sting, especially considering our history,” he said with a chuckle.

                “Excellent. I hope you have a good lawyer, Chat Sombre, because you’re about to go to jail,” Hawkmoth said, before cackling loudly to himself as he broke the connection.

                “Hmm… seeing my ex again will be interesting. And I am in the mood for Italian,” Adrien said, cracking his neck slightly as he pushed himself up from the wall he had been leaning against.


	22. Jailbreak

                “Oh wow, this place is so cute!” Marinette exclaimed as she walked into the café. Alya walked in behind her, and let out an excited gasp of her own.

                “Whoa! Like walking into a giant’s pocket!” she said with a smirk. The café had been decorated along the theme of the Borrowers, so tables were upturned cups and the stools shaped like spools of thread, there was also scattered about a few beanbag chairs designed to look like small, hand held bean bags, and the walls were decorated with oversized buttons, paperclips, pencils, and all manner of giant items. Even the plastic cups were shaped like thimbles. The girls ordered their drinks and chose a table, hesitantly nestling in on a beanbag together once their order had been brought to them.

                “How are we going to do this, the place is empty but he’s here,” Marinette whispered after taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

                “I’ve got a plan for that. Move your bag onto the table, there, and grab your phone. Tikki, you sit in front of her phone, and if we each put in an earphone, it’ll look and sound just like a kinda loud video call. Simple!” she said, offering Marinette one of her earbuds.

                “So smart! My girlfriend, the sneaky, subterfuge master,” Marinette replied.

                “Says the girl who kept her secret for almost three years,” Alya replied with a grin. Marinette’s cheek began to turn pink as she stammered for an answer, as Alya giggled gently. “Calm down girl, I’m not mad any more, just impressed, honestly. You must teach me your sneaky ways,” Alya said, leaning in a little to tickle the girl’s sides teasingly. Marinette began to giggle loudly, wriggling to try and get free from Alya’s roving fingers.

                “Ahem!” Tikki said with a huff, crossing her arms as she stared down at them both.

                “Sorry,” the girls said in unison, as Marinette leaned in to offer the pouty kwami a madeleine.

                “So, I really think we should go see this Wayzz guy, even if he is a letch. If I go, maybe you could go and ask in secret, y’know, making it so he can’t risk being ‘discovered’,” Alya said with a wink, as Tikki tentatively nibbled on the snack. Her eyes lit up at the taste, and had soon devoured the treat.

                “Mmmghhh, that’s not a bad idea actually. You are devious in all the right ways, Alya!” Tikki said, a faint smile perking up on her face.

                “Probably best to go later today, oh, shoot, no, I can’t today. If my parents find out I skipped lessons again, I’m so busted… I’d like to ask Juleka to…” she began, as Alya held up her phone to the girl.

                “Way ahead of you, she’s doing damage control along with Nino. Alix is… doing something weird, I dunno, she keeps talking really cryptically. Look at this ‘Fossil Roo is kicking my butt, why can’t I just get the damn Madain Ring!’ do you have any idea at all what she means?” Alya said, scrolling back through her messages.

                “Well, if I were to hazard a guess, I’d say she accidentally logged into her wrong account and is live tweeting a game. But don’t tell her I follow her account, please, I’d hate her to feel some sort of pressure or anything. She’s actually really funny, she should consider improv classes and comedy as a career,” Marinette said, smiling lightly.

 

                The girls remained at the café for a little while, enjoying drinks and snacks, and Alya had eventually begun to doze off. Marinette watched her girlfriend, noting that it was pretty uncommon for her to get so sleepy, and especially in public. The dark haired girl didn’t have the heart to disturb her until she noticed something about the girl.

                “Alya?” Marinette asked faintly, as she gazed across at the girl, touching her shoulder gently.

                “Mmmh?” Alya mumbled back at the girl, shifting in her seat.

                “This is a little awkward to ask, but… do you actually need your glasses?” Marinette asked nervously. Alya arched an eyebrow at the girl.

                “Um… yes? Why?” she replied.

                “Well… it’s just that these glasses don’t have any lenses in them,” Marinette said quietly, hooking her little finger through the frames, tugging them gently as she did so, a sweet smile on her lips. Alya let out a little sigh.

                “I broke one of the lenses this morning, so I popped the other one out, and am using my contacts today. Believe me, without these, I’d be blind as a bat!” she replied, a little more upbeat than she perhaps felt.

                “Oh! Then I can do this without you being super blind and stuff!” Marinette said, pushing herself closer to the girl. She cupped a hand along Alya’s cheek, sending the girl’s heart fluttering. Alya’s breath caught in her throat as Marinette’s fingers caught on the end of her glasses, gently lifting them from her ears, and pulling them from her face. Before Alya could question the girl on her motive, she leaned in close, pressing her lips to Alya’s as her hands fell to Alya’s sides.

                “Mmhh!” Alya squeaked, her eyes widening as Marinette’s tongue teased against her lips, beckoning for the girl to deepen the kiss. Alya hesitated for a moment, but relented, her mouth slowly opening to allow the girl to tease her even more. She began to whimper as Marinette’s hands stroked at her side, cupping delicately along her stomach, before resting just below her chest. As quickly as the kiss began, it was over, Marinette pulling back as Alya let out a whimpering, needy whine.

                “A little revenge for taking me by surprise in the classroom,” Marinette cooed gently. Alya’s heart felt like it was performing parkour within her chest as Marinette pulled back from her, the twin tailed girl’s gaze fixed upon Alya’s eyes. “You’re beautiful. Lenses or not, glasses or not,” she added, with a flushing of her cheeks. The girls finished their drinks, flirting relentlessly with one another all the while, and agreed to meet each other early. Their plan was to pay a visit to Fu in the morning, to hopefully be done before school began. With heavy hearts, they said their goodbyes, and headed off to their own homes. Alya could barely keep herself awake as she watched over the twins, and as soon as one of her parents was home, she made her excuses, and went to sleep.

 

                The heat had gone now, replaced by biting, chilling winds, a harsh blizzard that whipped at the girls hair and made forward visibility almost impossible. They pressed on, guided only by Alya’s instinct, the girl knew where she had to get to, but not why, or what for.

                “We need to stop!” Marinette called out, stumbling along beside Alya, who was focused forwards, pressing through the snow.

                “I can’t! I have to keep moving, we’re so close now! Only another few hundred metres now!” Alya exclaimed, urging the girl to keep moving. They continued another few steps, until the ground beneath them gave way, and they fell down a long slope of ice, coming to a halt in a cave that looked like the hollowed out skull of some colossal ancient canine creature. Both women walked slowly, looking at the carvings on the walls of the cave that seemed to be beyond age. They exuded an aura of having always been there, since before the universe itself, like they were a part of the very fabric of time and space.

                “You can look at pretty pictures any time, and you choose now to do it?” a voice said, the sarcastic voice that had haunted Alya since she had first come to this strange dreamscape. The girl turned to see an elegant, ethereal looking fox, its fur the very essence of orange, a little taller than she was, glaring down into her eyes.

                “Aaah!” Alya squeaked, stumbling backwards and slipping on the ice, Marinette falling alongside her as the dark haired girl tried to help her keep on her feet. The fox sighed gently, and rolled its eyes.

                “Saviours of the universe…” it muttered. “I suppose you’re going to want a reward for finding me too, aren’t you?” it said, as the girls pulled themselves to their feet.

                “Um… who are you?” Alya asked softly. The fox shimmered, and disappeared.

                “Trixx!” a voice hissed behind her, into her ear, causing her to flinch and spin away, sliding into the centre of the room despite her best efforts. “I am Trixx, the Fox! Spirit of mischief and fun! Spirit of disorder and chaos! I have taken many forms in the past, but I-” it continued.

                “You’re a Kwami, aren’t you!” Alya exclaimed loudly. The fox visibly deflated a little, disappointed that it’s speech had been interrupted.

                “You know, you didn’t have to spoil it! Yes, genius, I’m a Kwami. I’m in a dormant state right now, but soon someone is going to awaken me, and it’s going to be bad for everyone, so before I get sucked back into the real world, I wanted to give you something to help in the coming days, because you’re going to need it,” it said, becoming vaporous as it swished through the air, coming to rest in front of Alya. It nosed her hand until she was holding it out, and ruffled in its fur. It came out with a small yellow gem, which faintly glowed, with a stylised sun pattern on it, which it placed in her hand.

                “What is this? Why did you choose me? Are you why I’ve been coming here?” Alya asked, as she gazed down at the stone.

                “You’ll figure it out. Yes, you came here because of me. Sorry. I know it’s been hard, but I knew you could do it, because, and this is the reason I chose you too. Alya, you and I are de-” it began, before being cut short by a colossal booming sound. “Ah, our time is up. See you soooonnnnnn!” it said, as it turned into vapour, vanishing up into the roof. Marinette came over to the girl, who held up the stone.

                “It kinda looks like a pearl…” Marinette mumbled. Alya merely nodded her head, which was beginning to throb. The throbs continued until the girl’s eyes slid open, and she sat up, rubbing her eyes. She shifted, only to bump against something in her bed. She felt around until her hands came across a smooth orb, which she pulled out into the rising daylight. Blinking in her confusion, she regarded the gem, noting the way the light reflected through it.

                “This is mine…” she whispered, enraptured by the rainbow lights.

 

                Alarms and sirens sounded as Chat Sombre stalked the rooftops of La Sante Prison, Paris’s most central jail.

                “Hmmhmm,” the boy chuckled to himself as he watched the guards shout and holler as they witnessed the destruction he had wrought, mostly as a distraction to remove any direct pursuit of him. “Trust her to be placed in the same prison as Lupin,” he said to himself, a dry smirk on his face. Multiple gendarmerie ran past as he ducked down behind a roof, before quickly leaping up and over to another building, which he entered with a quick use of his corrosive touch. Ten minutes of searching brought him to the maximum security wing, where two burly looking men armed with rifles regarded him with surprise.

                “Ch-Chat Noir?” one exclaimed, as he lunged towards them. A swift kick brought one of them to their knees, and before the other could react, he had spun around and planted his boot against the guard’s face, slamming him back against the wall.

                “Chat Sombre. Do tell Ladybug I was gentle, wouldn’t want her calling me a monster,” he said, casually leaning against the door, letting his corrosive magic spread through the metal, which rusted and collapsed within mere moments. “Imagine what that would do to your skin,” he said darkly, stepping through the hole as the guards began trying to radio for backup. He paced along a low, long, badly lit corridor, walking past dozens of empty cells before he reached another door. He tore this off its hinges, and walked into an octagonal room with a much stronger looking cage in the middle.

                “Stop! Please! I don’t want anything to do with this anymore!” a female voice yelled from the cage, where a figure could be seen bundled up in quite stark looking blankets.

                “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice this time, _mia bella_. Hawkmoth’s got Plans,” he said, pacing over to the cell. The bundled figure shifted away as he walked, but hesitated.

                “A-Adrien? Oh no, he got to you too?” the woman said softly, leaning forwards, the bundle pulling back from her head to reveal her face.

                “It wasn’t him that did this to me, Lila! It was her! Ladybug! She broke my heart and tossed me aside,” he snapped, grabbing at the bars angrily.

                “I guess it takes one to know one,” she replied, sourly, shuffling back away from him. “I’m not coming with you, Adrien,” she said, as he glared down at her.

                “Chat Sombre! Adrien is a weak, spineless little boy! I am strong! I am fearless!” he roared back at her, his hands surging with dark energy as the bars began to corrode and decay. He ripped them apart with ease, letting the bars clatter and clang as they fell, slowly becoming rusted and broken as he walked towards her.

                “I, I told you, I don’t want this! I reject him! Please! Don’t do this to me again!” Lila exclaimed, shuffling backwards even more as the akuma approached her.

                “Fortunately, it’s not you I’m after, silly girl. It’s Volpina!” he snarled, lunging forwards. He grabbed at her hair, pulling her back as she flailed uselessly against him. As she continued to protest, he reached into his chest, which became gaseous and swirly, and pulled out a fox tail pendant on a thread. “The real Volpina, the one you could never be. You will be more than you ever were!” he said, placing the pendant onto the girl’s neck, as a tiny purple butterfly phased through the stone wall, and flapped towards them.

 

                “Alya, are you OK? You seem more concerned than I am, and I’m the one who’s lost their eternal life partner…” Tikki said quietly as the two girls paced through the misty streets of Paris. She had rushed over to Marinette’s place as soon as she had woke herself up, but her excitement about the dream and the gem faded almost the instant she arrived. Even now she had a pit in her stomach, and could barely speak.

                “Hmm? Yeah… weird dream…” she mumbled faintly, her hand fiddling with the gemstone in her pocket. Tikki tilted her head to one side, but chose to say nothing more as she flittered along beside the girls.

                “Do you think Wayzz will know what’s happened to Plagg?” Marinette asked quietly, trying to push through the awkward silence, but it didn’t work. The pigtailed girl moved a little closer to Alya, trying to link her arm around Alya’s. The taller girl pulled away from her jerkily, letting out a faint yelp as she did so. “A-Alya?” Marinette whimpered, feeling the prickle of tears behind her eyes.

                “Wh-what? I just… I’m not a big fan of… just… leave it, OK,” she stammered, as she looked from Tikki to Marinette. “Stop looking at me like that! It’s mine, OK!” she snapped.

                “What’s yours?” Tikki asked softly, as Alya stepped away from the floating Kwami.

                “That’s…” she began, before being cut off by an echoey boom that rattled gutters and shook the ground. Marinette and Tikki exchanged a terrified glance.

                “That sounded like it came from Master Fu’s place!” Marinette exclaimed. Tikki nodded, and closed her eyes. “Spots on!” Marinette called, and in a flash of light and a warping of the fabric of reality, she became the hero, Ladybug. She turned to Alya, who had her arms crossed firmly.

                “I’m coming with you,” she stated. Ladybug regarded her for a moment, before hesitantly nodding. Alya dug through her bag as they ran, and pulled out a scrap of cloth, which she tied around her face. It was green and had what looked like pen marks on it in darker green, with two eye holes cut into it crudely.

                “What on earth…” Ladybug began, but she saw the huffy pout the girl had on her lips, and halted.

                “It was the best I could do with a day’s notice, miss fashionista. If you have criticism, I would first like to see you make one,” Alya said with a little sniff, turning away from the girl. “M-Marinette, I… I’m… earlier, with the arm, I don’t want you to think that, like… it’s just that… uugh, why is talking so hard!” she grumbled, as the girls ran on.

                “We can talk about it later. Maybe we can head to that café again, that smoothie was… oh…” Ladybug began, before trailing off as she regarded the scene. Their route to Fu’s place took them through a large open courtyard, with his shop beyond it, and down a long alleyway. Within the courtyard, murmuring amongst themselves, flexing and testing out their powers, were dozens upon dozens of Akuma. Almost as one, they spotted the heroine and her new companion, and the mood very quickly turned threatening.

                “Ladybug! Miss Connection! How good of you to join us!” a voice called out from one of the rooftops. Chat Sombre stood on a slanted tile roof, one monstrous black shadowed hand gripping into it to lean him at an angle. “I had so been hoping you would turn up together! Now you get to watch one another be turned into Akuma! Although, for one of you to turn up only to have to fight the other would have been delicious as well! No matter, we cannot have everything, as they say,” he called out with a little giggle.

                “How did you akumatise so many people, Chat!?” Ladybug snapped, glaring up at him.

                “Ladybug, wait… I don’t think this is real…” Miss whispered to the heroine, who arched an eyebrow.

                “What makes you think that?”

                “Well, for one, Stoneheart is clipping through that tree, Copycat couldn’t float like that, and… well, there’s Lady Wifi over there,” she said, pointing to her doppelganger. Ladybug glanced over to her, and let out a brief chuckle.

                “Sorry to disappoint you, Chat, but I don’t believe your tricks for a second. You may have an illusion Akuma here somewhere, but you definitely don’t have an army!” she called out, pacing towards Stoneheart. The rock monster growled angrily, and swatted at her with his arm. The impact sent the hero flying backwards, sliding on her back over the paving stones. She pulled herself upwards, groaning in pain.

                “Ohhh, that felt **so** satisfying! I’ve been wanting to really smack you around for years!” a female voice spoke from within the crowd.

                “I know that voice…” Miss said, as she helped Ladybug to her feet. They turned as the crowd parted, letting Volpina strut towards them, flute in hand.

                “The Akumas might not be here, but these lovely illusions still pack a punch. I’d just give up your Miraculous now, Ladybug. You won’t win this fight,” she said, glaring angrily down at the hero.

                “Boop!” Miss Connection called out, rising upwards, poking the girl on the nose. A flash of purple light up all three girls, and when it faded, a pause glyph hung in the air in front of Volpina. Every illusion behind them stopped moving along with her. “Time to run?” Miss asked, offering her hand to Ladybug, who nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That café doesn't exist, but I really wish it did...


	23. Oh Fu...

                “Poor Lila. Getting dragged back into this again…” Marinette whispered as she panted for breath. She had detransformed mid run, hoping that her civilian self would attract less attention than her alter ego.

                “Didn’t she get herself into it in the first place? I thought she got locked up because she sought out Hawkmoth to be akumatised?” Alya commented idly as she tried to peak into the alley.

                “Kind of. OK, yes, she did voluntarily join Hawkmoth in the beginning. And that was… I mean, just the **worst** decision someone could possibly make, but she did regret her actions, and she was rehabilitating. She told me she was seeing a therapist, actually. Oh gosh I hope that me not turning up this week wasn't the cause of her...” Marinette replied, a little icily. The taller girl regarded her with a look of irritation.

                “You kept track of her? That’s a little stalkery…” she mumbled.

                “ **I** kept track of Hawkmoth’s highest profile victims to make sure they aren’t targeted again, so that if they happened to be targeted, I'd be able to act quickly. I didn’t really take into account my sexuality taking a sharp left turn and causing my partner to take a high dive into the corrupted mess of akumaville!” Marinette hissed quietly back at the girl, realising a moment too late that her words could have been taken in a number of ways. “Alya, no, I just…” she began, but Alya held up her hand.

                “It’s… it’s fine, really. I get it, storm. L-like me earlier, with the arm thing, it’s just one of those things,” she said, biting back some of her harsher words. The girls watched from behind a small stone wall as Volpina and Chat Sombre stalked through the alleyway, arguing with one another, and presumably with Hawkmoth, the unseen third in their conversation. They chose rather than risk being seen to gather more information, they would simply wait until they had gone before proceeding as planned. It seemed like the two Akumatised villains had differing ideas of what they wanted to do, and this indecision gave the direct result of no plan at all, which played into the girls favour. Twenty minutes after the villains had left, the girls emerged from their hiding place, and make their way cautiously to the massage shop run by Fu.

                “This place looks terrible. How does he even get any customers?” Alya commented as she walked by a broken bit of pottery.

                “It’s not usually like this! Master Fu!” Tikki said, dashing forwards and calling out the man’s name.

                “The last time I came here, it looked a lot better. Alya, you don’t think…” Marinette began, touching her hand to the trio of large gashes that had been cut into the wallpaper. Both girls exchanged a look, and rushed forwards after the Kwami.

                “No… No no no no no! I should’ve stopped this! I… I can’t believe it… Wayzz…” Tikki squeaked, as she hovered in the air. The two girls peered into the room, and gasped. The room had been torn apart, likely by Chat Sombre, and was utterly ragged. In the centre of the room sat a music box, which had also been broken apart, with compartments for seven items in a hidden draw. Next to it, inside a large, green light bubble, lay an old Asian man, clutching onto a yellow comb, and a jade green bracelet. On top of his stomach, sprawled out, was a green turtle-like Kwami.

                “Ti…kki…” the creature mumbled weakly, as all three girls rushed into the room. Alya tried to reach towards the old man, but the light bubble was solid, a shield of energy that separated the old man from the rest of the world. Looking around the floor, it was clear that Sombre had tried to break through it.

                “I’m here, Wayzz, what happened? When did this happen?” the little bug creature exclaimed, peering down into the shield.

                “No… time… all energy… keeping… Master alive. You must… fix… the first…” the creature mumbled weakly. Before they could ask anything else, his head flopped forwards, and his eyes closed. The shield waivered a little, but managed to keep its shape and solidity.

                “Tikki…” Marinette mumbled quietly, cupping her hands under the creature as she slowly floated downwards.

                “I can’t… feel Trixx anymore. First Plagg, now her… Wayzz is keeping Pollen safe… Nooroo is a slave to Hawkmoth, and Duusuu is still dormant. I’m… I’m the last active Kwami… I’m all alone,” she mumbled weakly, as Marinette brought her in close.

                “You might be the last Kwami, but you’re not alone! R-Right Marinette?” Alya said, forcing a smile as she hopped up from her knees.

                “Y-yeah, you’ve got us,” Marinette mumbled halfheartedly.

                “Not just us. I think… I think it’s time to introduce the Akumasaqud to you,” Alya said with a nervous glance to Marinette.

               

                “Are you ever going to tell me your plan, or are you just going to sit there and pout, Sombrambino,” Volpina said with a cackle as she tiptoed her way along a thin ledge among the rooftops of Paris. Chat Sombre flashed the girl an angry glare, before turning back to scanning the streets to try and locate Marinette and Alya.

                “You do not need to know the plan; you merely have to follow it. It is perfectly simple, we grind her down and make her want to give up on being the hero. We attack and run, we avoid her annoying Lucky Charm, and we keep putting more and more pressure on her. And I know exactly where to hit Marinette Dupain-Cheng the hardest,” he said, practically purring as a building caught his eye. Volpina rolled her eyes at his blustering, twirling her flute idly.

                “As long as I get to crush her, that’s fine by me. But I want to know more about that other one, the one you called Miss Connection. Who was she?” the villainous woman asked, piping on her flute to summon a copy of the woman in front of her.

                “She is the remnants of an akuma giving a little power to a civilian. She is Alya Cesaire, formerly Lady Wifi, now calling herself Miss Connection, playing at being a hero. She’s not a threat, she’s barely an annoyance,” he said, clenching his fist, as dark energy began to surge from it, rolling over the tiles, corroding them slowly.

                “Barely an annoyance, and yet it appears as though she has you almost as riled as Ladybug, if not more so. You are still easier to read than a picture book, _diletto_. What has she done to you?” she purred, swishing the illusion apart and pacing over to Sombre, draping herself over him.

                “She stole from me! She broke my heart and flaunted it in my face! Ladybug should have been mine!” he snapped, snarling. Volpina sighed, and pulled herself away from him, shoving his head gently.

                “Typical Adrien. Ladybug, Ladybug, Ladybug,” she said, posturing as the male twisted round and onto his feet, getting dangerously close to the woman, who did not relent. “You are as obsessed with that dirty do gooder now as you were back then. You had me then, and you have me now, _caro_ , and yet, you still ignore me. What would it take for you to love _me_?” she said, looking him deeply in his deep green eyes.

                “Meet me at the school in half an hour. Transform yourself into Marinette. We have a reputation to ruin,” he snarled, vanishing into the dark, pluming smoke of his power to quickly turn and stalk away from her. He reached the end of the roof, and hunched down. “And if at any point in the day you encounter Ladybug, do not take her Miraculous. Make her cry, but do not make her normal. My whole plan is ruined if she cannot be detransformed,” he said, leaping off the roof into the streets below. Volpina waited a few moments for him to head off, before chuckling apparently to herself.

                “Yes, Hawkmoth, I know. He is brash, and swayed by his heart. That could be dangerous, in the heat of the moment. I understand. As always, I am your servant,” she said, a dark grin appearing on her face.

 

                Alya and Marinette returned to Alya’s home, the brunette spinning a tale of how she had forgotten a homework assignment and had come back for it. Her father chose not to question why she had left so early in the morning that she could come home and still have half an hour before she would normally be heading out, but he did mutter to Alya that she was to keep her bedroom door open, which made her blush a lot more than she had wanted.

                “What was that all about?” Marinette asked, as she followed after Alya.

                “Nothing important!” the taller girl said with a squeak. In Alya’s room, she booted up her laptop, and showed Marinette the chat logs from the last few days. “See, everyone’s down for it, even Rose wants to help, even though she has no powers. We’re your Scooby squad! It’s just like Buffy!” she said with a grin.

                “Alya…” Marinette began, “I know you want to help, you all do. And I’m not saying that you can’t help, it’s just… what I mean is… with everything going on, and with, like, with Chat, and now Volpina, it’s…” she struggled, words failing her.

                “Marinette, may I interject?” Tikki asked. Both girls turned to the Kwami, who seemed a lot less upbeat than usual, and with good reason. “I know you are worried about placing people at risk, but we are in desperate times right now. You are one Miraculous against two Akumatised Miraculous. That is unprecedented. You need all the help you can get,” she said.

                “You didn’t want to ask us for help because it would be like you personally putting us in the firing line, right?” Alya said quietly. Marinette nodded her head.

                “Yes. I didn’t want anyone to be at risk because of me. But now, all of Paris is at risk… I need help. Alya… I… I need your help. I need the Akumasquad,” she said softly, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Alya crossed quickly over to her, pulling her into a tight hug.

                “You’ve got me for certain. I am yours. I’ve always been yours, since the day we met,” she whispered into Marinette’s ear, resting her forehead against the girl’s hair as Marinette sobbed.

                “Thank you,” Marinette whimpered in reply. The two girls stood in their embrace for a few minutes, until Marinette slowly pulled back, wiping the moisture from her cheeks and nose. “Uugh, I look like such a mess I bet,” she mumbled, as Alya handed her a box of tissues.

                “Prettiest mess I’ve ever seen,” Alya replied, leaning in to kiss Marinette on the nose. The dark haired girl giggled softly, nuzzling against Alya’s cheek softly.

                “OK!” she said suddenly, shocking both Alya and Tikki. “No more stumbling around my words. No more feeling sorry for myself. It sucks that Adrien has been akumatised, and I will apologise to him for it once we’ve got him free. But right now, he’s the akuma we have to beat. And to do that, we need more people on our side, especially since he’s got Volpina on his side too,” she said, putting on a stern face.

                “Hell yeah girl!” Alya exclaimed.

                “So we need to talk to everyone. Every Akuma victim of the past, to find out if they have their powers. We need to recruit them onto our side, to give us as much of a chance as possible of beating Chat Sombre. And unfortunately, that means first of all, we need to speak with the person I least want to talk to in the whole world…” she said, as Alya’s face fell.

 

                “Chloe! There you are! I just followed the light flashing off of those skanky earrings of yours and found you!” Marinette called out as she walked towards the blonde. Chloe turned slowly, her face already turning pink with anger.

                “What did you…” she began, but halted in a choking, guttural grunt as she saw the girl hand in hand with Adrien.

                “Hey Chloe! Marinette and I are dating! We wanted to ask, since you’re the town bike, if you wanted to get in on this action once in a while. Could be fun slapping you around a bit while we do it,” he said with a smirk.

                “Yeah Chlo, come on, you’ve almost got those tits out already, you might as well do it for real and get it over with,” Marinette said, tugging on Chloe’s top enough to almost cause her breasts to spill out.

                “Where’s your toady? Oh, there you are Sabrina, didn’t see you there. Not because anything was blocking you, just, you don’t have any presence at all,” Adrien said, rolling his eyes.

                “Take care slut,” Marinette said, slapping the girl on the rear before walking past, leaving Chloe speechless and fuming.

                “I… that… you…” she stammered, hands bunched and vibrating. Sabrina mumbled something, but it went on deaf ears.

                “Chloe! Thank goodness you’re here!” Marinette called out as she ran to the girl, with Rose hot on her heels. Chloe turned to her with a face of thunder, drawing in a breath to begin a rant. “Have you seen me? I mean, not me, me, but another person, who looks like me? Maybe with someone who looks like Adrien. There’s been an Akuma, they can make evil clones of people!” Marinette continued, as Rose nodded along, verifying her words.

                “It’s true! There’s an evil Alix going around insulting everyone, and I even saw an evil Alya too! Please, if you see them, let us know! We’re trying to help Ladybug and Chat Noir!” Rose said. Chloe’s rage seemed to subside a little, and her eyebrow even perked up a little at the mention of the heroes.

                “Help Ladybug? How?” she said, folding her arms over her chest, tugging her top up a little to better protect her modesty.

                “W-well, we’re warning everyone so no big fights happen, and we’re documenting who has an evil clone and who doesn’t. And we were going to give her the lists and information when she turned up,” Marinette said.

                “Hmph. Well, I guess I can help out a little, but I get to be the one who tells Ladybug when she turns up, understand me, Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” Chloe said with a light sniff.

                “Absolutely, that’s, yes, that’s perfect! Please, tell as many people as you can, Akuma making evil clones, so people might do or say weird things today!” Rose exclaimed.

                “I’ll help too!” Sabrina pipped in, making Marinette and Rose both jump slightly. Chloe admonished the girl, but quickly shooed her away, following on after her after reiterating her terms to Marinette. After she had gone, Rose glanced around, and nodded. Marinette began to visually shift, turning back into Juleka.

                “Uugh… this is hard,” Juleka mumbled.

                “But you’re doing it fantastically!” Rose said, leaning up to kiss the girl on the cheek. Juleka blushed a little, but smiled.

                “Today is going to give me a headache, isn’t it?” she said, glancing at the notes Rose had made.

                “I’m afraid so. Next is evil Alya, we need to make sure Kim, Max and Nathanael see her being mean to Nino. Oh, and Alya herself said that she and Mari are due at school in about ten minutes, so Alix is going to meet them and cause a scene to get the information to them,” she said, ticking something off the list.

                “OK. You’re really good at keeping everything tracked, that’s so wicked!” Juleka said, smiling and hugging Rose softly before stepping back. After one last glance around to make sure they were not being watched, she closed her eyes, and began to transform.


	24. A not so friendly chat

                The air was thick with suspicion when Alya and Marinette walked into the College Francoise Dupont, with people glancing at one another with untrusting eyes. They were greeted by Max, who ran up to them and quickly ushered them into a classroom.

                “It’s Juleka. I don’t have much time. Lila is here! I didn’t even know she was being let out!” she exclaimed as she shifted back to her own form. Alya glanced to Marinette, her hand clasping around the gem within her pocket.

                “I’m afraid she’s another victim this time around. You probably know already, but, Adrien has… uh… well…” she stammered.

                “He’s Chat. I’m Ladybug and he’s Chat, and he saw Ladybug who is me kissing Alya, and he got akumatised and now he’s gotten Lila into the mix and everything is my fault!” Marinette snapped, running a hand through her hair before grasping at it, frustrated more than upset. Juleka blinked once or twice, before nodding her head.

                “He was weird yesterday…” Juleka muttered to herself, as if things were now beginning to make sense. “Adrien Akuma busted out Lila, and now she is helping him… to ruin Marinette. Rose and I have been spreading a rumor about an Akuma who creates evil clones. It’s helping to keep the facts from being uncovered, but it won’t last forever,” she said, as Alya glanced to Marinette, who was showing more signs of frustration.

                “Babe, you OK?” Alya asked, and Marinette flashed an angry glare at her.

                “No! No I am not! I have got so much on my shoulders right now! You… I… **uugh!** ” she snapped, storming off without so much as a word of warning.

                “Mari… uugh, fine!” Alya huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. As Marinette entered the room, she pushed past Rose, who tried to get her attention, but Marinette was having none of it.

                “What happened?” Rose asked quietly, walking over to the two girls.

                “Marinette had a hissy fit and left,” Alya said sourly, arms crossing even tighter. As she did, a faint tinkle of something vaguely crystalline hitting the floor echoed around the room. Juleka bent down and picked up the stone.

                “What’s thi-” she began, before Alya lunged at her, snatching it from her grasp.

                “It’s **mine!** ” she almost snarled at the girl, before blinking one or twice. “Oh… oh my… Juleka, I’m so sorry! I… this… this thing, it’s messing with my head. I think it could be related to everything going on…” she said, hesitantly placing it on a desk. She moved her hand away from it slowly, but as Rose drew closer, she hurriedly snatched it up again. “Oh my god, what is wrong with me!” she wailed, hands shaking as she dropped the stone back to the table.

                “Is this a Ladybug thing? It looks like it has spots on it,” Rose said, as Alya forced herself into taking a step away from the stone.

                “I… I think it is. I think she needs to have it. I… I have to go. I’ll keep you both updated in the chat, thank you for helping Marinette out, I know she appreciates it!” she said, grabbing the stone and rushing out of the room before either girl could respond. They shared a confused glance, before Rose began to outline the next steps of her plan.

 

                Anyone who saw Marinette’s pacing through the school would say that she walked with purpose, and with a fierce determination, but that would have only been the start of it. She had been pushing and pushing to keep her emotions back, to keep herself calm and rational, but the storm had created a tsunami of aggression and anguish and fear, and it was all now crashing down on top of her. She caught sight of Ivan in the hallway, and roared his name before stalking over to him. The giant of a male saw her approaching, and physically cowered away from her as she drew close.

                “Have you seen Adrien?” she snapped.

                “Ah! Y-yeah, he went to the textile classroom,” he said, shaking as he pointed. Marinette nodded, and walked on with an almost feral growl.

                “Adrien!” she bellowed, pushing the door open. Inside the room stood Adrien and Alya, who were merrily cutting through fabric that she recognised instantly.

                “Oh! Hey Marinette! I’m glad you’re here! Alya and I have figured everything out. I’ve renounced my Akuma, Lila too, and she’s turned herself in to the authorities. You have nothing to worry about!” he said, smiling brightly at her.

                “But, in return, Adrien gets to put it to me any way he wants, any time he wants. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t into it at first, but let’s be real here, I don’t want you, I just want a super hero, and now I get to suck Chat Noir’s baton whenever he wants! And girl, I even got you a throwdown with the model if you want it!” Alya said, winking at Marinette, whose fists were balled. She glared darkly at the two, carefully closing the door behind her.

                “But we needed something to write down the terms of the agreement on, so we figured we’d use your project. You know, the one you’ve been working on all year. We had to snip it up a bit, but it’s fine, right? To keep Paris safe?” Adrien said, his smile growing wider.

                “Get out,” Marinette growled quietly.

                “Marinette?” Alya said in a singsong tone.

                “Shut up Lila! Get out of here right now, both of you!” she roared, slamming her fist onto the nearest table so hard that her hand left a dent in the top of it. Her footfalls were heavy, and her glare unyielding as she approached them.

                “Oh gosh! I didn’t think you’d be clever enough to see through my illusion so quickly. Aren’t you the smartypants?” Lila’s voice said from Alya’s body, which shimmered before becoming more akin to the Volpina she knew, albeit with longer, more fluffy ears, a larger and more feral tail which twitched as she spoke, and larger, more prominent fangs.

                “ **Get out of here!** ” Marinette screamed, lunging for Adrien with a fist. He caught her strike against his arm with ease, letting out a little huff as smoke began to roll from his clothing, which disappeared as he transformed back into Chat Sombre.

                “Hah. Did you honestly, truly think that a mere school girl could cause harm to me? I am the world’s first Akumiraculous! You should feel honoured to even touch me, and yet you try to assault me? Hah!” he scoffed as he grabbed her hand and held her at arm’s length from his body.

                “Why!? Why do this on top of everything else? Why do you want me to suffer? I can’t help who I’m in love with, Adrien!” she cried out, tears falling down her cheeks but her rage still broiling as she wrestled with his grip to try and free herself.

                “Because you hurt me more than I have been hurt in my life! You tore out my heart, so I’m going to do the same to you! I will take everything you love, everything that gives you hope, and joy, and smash it on the ground and make you watch! You think you’re suffering now? Just you wait! I’m going to cut apart more than your silly little dress. I’m going to snip your life apart, piece by piece, until there’s nothing left of you but rags,” he spoke, his tone growing more and more gravelly and rough with each word spoken, until he was growling every word. Marinette opened her mouth to speak, but her phone began to ring. Chat Sombre snatched it from the girl’s pocket, and looked at the screen.

                “Awww, it’s Alya. Should I answer it?” he said with a cackle, holding it up to his ear. “Hello! Marinette can’t come to the phone right now, she’s too busy being my little puppet, but don’t worry, once I’m all done playing with he-” he began, until a fist emerged from the phone, slamming into his cheek. The fist was quickly followed by the rest of Alya, teleporting in through the wireless signal of the phone.

                “Get your dirty smoky corruption claws off my girlfriend!” Alya yelled as she dropped to the ground, purple glowing mask shining around her eyes.

 

                Somewhere in Paris, a man stood in a shrouded room, filled with butterflies. The room was domed, and two large mechanical shutters began to pull apart, revealing the Paris skyline, a shaft of light, patterned by the ironwork of the window, shone down into the room, highlighting the man as he stood in the centre of it. He slammed his cane down into the ground, and a purple butterfly shape appeared in front of his mask.

                “Yet again, the boy has let his emotions take priority over the mission. He has had several chances to claim the Miraculous from Ladybug, and each time he has failed! Volpina! Do whatever is necessary to get those earrings in my possession! Take them, force her to hand them over, kill her if you must! I want that Miraculous!!” he snarled, speaking to the akumatised woman through his telepathic link.

 

                “Yes, Hawkmoth!” Volpina said quietly, before lunging towards Marinette as she tried to dust herself down. The suited woman’s fingers brushed against one of the earrings, as Marinette just about managed to scramble away from the attack. Alya moved to thrust a pausing glyph at the woman, but found herself being grasped tightly by Chat Sombre.

                “Volpina! What are you doing? This is not my plan!” he snapped, his grip on Alya’s shoulder piercing her skin very slowly. Alya let out a scream, and tried to pull away, watching in horror as her shirt sleeve began to dissolve.

                “It is his! You have been superseded, Sombre. Hawkmoth wants the Miraculous. Hawkmoth gets the Miraculous. I get to keep my power!” she said with a grin, lunging for Marinette again. The girl vaulted backwards, rolling over a desk, landing in a crouched position, thanking whatever deity might have been looking out for her.

                “Tikki! Spots on!” she exclaimed, and erupted upwards in a blast of pink light, transforming into her alter ego and launching a fist at Volpina, who ducked down away, flipping backwards to avoid the strike. Ladybug grabbed her yo-yo, and launched it straight at Chat, who was still glaring angrily at Volpina. The toy slapped against his face, causing him to flinch, which released Alya from his grasp.

                “Ladybug!” Alya exclaimed, dashing towards her, clutching at her shoulder.

                “Did he hurt you?” Ladybug whispered softly as Alya drew close. The girl shook her head slightly.

                “I don’t think so. Did he hurt you?” she asked, her face betraying the amount of pain she was actually in.

                “Only enough to get me mad,” Ladybug replied. Meanwhile, Sombre and Volpina were engaging in their own battle, as the female villain kept summoning random akuma illusions to fight and protect for her. Sombre tore through them with vicious speed, snarling and roaring as he tried to get close to her.

                “He has cast **me** out? Hah! Without me, he would have no plan! Without me, he wouldn’t even have you!” Sombre snarled. A shimmering light appeared in front of his face, and he halted his assault.

                “Uh oh! Kittycat is in trouble! Ciao, Coccinella, Connessione! Can’t wait to fight proper!” Volpina said with a giggle, as the purple light grew even more, enveloping both her and Sombre. When it faded, the pair of villains had vanished. Alya took a small step towards Ladybug, who quickly retransformed into Marinette, taking a step away from Alya, towards her project.

                “Mari, I can’t-” Alya began, only to be cut off by Marinette.

                “I need some time... to deal with all this. Alone time. Please… just leave,” Marinette whispered, her eyes locked on the pile of shorn and butchered fabric. Alya took a breath to speak, but held herself back. She turned, and walked to the door, before halting.

                “I, uh… have something for you. I think it’s important…” she said quietly.

                “Just go,” Marinette said, her voice a little hoarse, strained as she stepped again towards her ruined project. Alya’s head hung low as she turned to the door, and left, letting the door clack shut behind her.

 

                “Do you finally understand? I hold absolute power over you, boy!” Hawkmoth snarled, as loud screams rang out through his lair. Strands of purple energy swirled around his hand, as he held it near the throat of Chat Sombre, who was the one screaming as the strands emerged painfully from his body.

                “Ohhh, this is too much, I can’t watch,” Volpina said, staring intently with a gleeful grin at the spectacle.

                “Aaaaagghhhhhh!!! You’ll pay for this, Hawkmoth! I’ll make you rue the daaaaaaaaa!!!!” Sombre exclaimed, thrashing about in his magical restraint, as the last of the blackness faded from him, save for a thin halo of a mask around his eyes.

                “Do not presume to talk to me about ruing, boy! Your miraculous is the only thing about you that marks you as anything of note! Unfortunately, I cannot yet take it without removing your Akuma, and I still have use of your power,” the masked male said, letting Adrien drop to the ground. The boy fell to his knees, visibly shaking as he sobbed, trying to keep himself conscious.

                _Hey idiot. Welcome back to the land of sanity_ a voice inside Adrien’s head spoke, but he could not concentrate upon it.

                “Volpina. Take your Akuma Illusions. Take control of the city! Let terror grip all of Paris, but let it be known that if the citizens hand over Ladybug, they will not be harmed. Oh, and fetch someone that she will be desperate to save, a loved one or a special friend. I’m sure you can imagine what we might do with someone like that,” Hawkmoth said, turning his attention back to the woman, who arched an eyebrow. “I must begin preparations. I will be bringing this one on a short leash this time, to ensure that everything goes according to plan. I do not want either of you to make rash decisions that could jeopardise my Miraculouses!” he snapped.

                “Yes Hawkmoth. I know exactly who to bring. Would you be a sweetie and bring some rope with you. I’d like to make things interesting,” she cooed.

                “Uugh, you talking about rope brings back too many bad memories…” Adrien grumbled, and the woman flashed him a glare.

                “You weren’t actually tied up, Sombrambino! It was an illusion of you!” she snapped.

                “That’s not what I was talking about… Lila,” Adrien replied with a little smirk upon his face, causing the villainess to become lightly flustered, and storm off with a growl.


	25. Miraculous Akumasquad!

                Alya hurried through the darkening alleyways of Paris as the sun dipped over the horizon. She had a bag full of items she hoped would be useful, including two recharge packs for her phone, and a spare phone just in case. She had a feeling she’d need every bit of juice she could get tonight. Over the afternoon, Volpina had made her announcement to all of Paris. Her demands were simple. Deliver Ladybug to the top of the Arc de Triomphe before midnight, or the Akumas that she had summoned would tear the city apart. As the announcement went out, dozens of akuma began appearing in the streets, securing key locations, effectively locking the city down. It was only through luck that Alya had made it home, and it was only through the grace of her ability that she was able to get back to the school.

                “Cesaire! You better have a damn good reason for keeping me here like this! I’m still mad at you for doing… whatever it is you did to me!” Chloe snapped as she watched the girl creep in through a window. The blonde was hiding under a desk along with Sabrina and Nino, who gave Alya a glance that said ‘I’m trying my best’.

                “I do. You said you wanted to help ladybug, right?” she hissed as she clambered under the expansive table.

                “Of course! Who do you think I am? Ladybug’s number one fan, that’s who!” Chloe replied, chest puffed up as she spoke. Alya rolled her eyes.

                “Well, a little ginger bird told me that you’ve been going through the same thing I have. Like, maybe you’ve been having dreams, and been speaking to a certain Anti person in those dreams,” Alya said, as Sabrina glanced aside.

                “You told her!?” Chloe snapped.

                “She asked! She seemed to know everything! I’m sorry, Chloe,” Sabrina whimpered, as Alya patted her on the shoulder.

                “It’s OK. Chloe, we’ve been going through the same. Sabrina, me, Nino. And some others who’ll be turning up too,” she said, as she noticed the shadow at the door. There came a knock, and then a pause, and then another knock, which was a rough estimation of the first few bars of ‘Do You Hear The People Sing’. Alya quickly scuttled over to the door, and opened it, letting Rose, Juleka, Mylene and Ivan enter the room.

                “Oh good, the cavalry’s here. The scaredy cat, the dumb lump, the fairy princess and the vampire,” Chloe said. “Oh look at me, I’m Chloe, my dad’s the most corrupt politician in the history of France but he’ll be nothing compared to me if I ever get involved in politics,” she added, despite her lips not moving. Rose began to giggle as Chloe looked around indignantly, as Juleka smirked.

                “Come on, it’s not nice to mess with her. Ivan, Mylene, I’m glad you two are here. I know everything seems real messed up right now, but I think with who we have here, we might just be OK,” Alya said.

                “And who exactly is We?” Chloe snapped.

                “The Akumasquad!” Alya said with a grin.

 

                Ten minutes later, the gathered young adults had been briefed on the situation, and Alya had demonstrated her power first hand.

                “It doesn’t matter if your power isn’t as strong as your akuma form, or if you’re afraid or if you don’t like the powers. Right now, we need to pull together to help Ladybug. Chat Noir isn’t going to come, and she’s struggling.

                “Hmph! Just like that ridiculous feline to get himself into a mess like this. My precious Ladybug would never make this kind of mistake,” Chloe said, with a proud huff. Alya visibly twitched a little at ‘precious Ladybug’ but kept her cool, she suspected in no small part to Nino, who was sat a little way off, idly blowing bubbles.

                “Actually… it’s worse than that. He’s the Akuma. Chat Sombre. It’s…” Juleka said, hesitating.

                “It’s Adrien,” a voice said from the door. The group turned to see Marinette stood in the frame, with Alix a little way behind her. The short girl ducked into the room and crossed over to Alya, giving her a little wink. “Adrien is Chat Noir, and he’s also Chat Sombre. His Akumatisation is my fault…” she continued.

                “Hmph! Well well well, Marinette Dupain-Cheng! And how exactly did you akumatise the sweetest, kindest, most wonderful boy in Paris?” Chloe asked with a haughty laugh.

                “I broke his heart,” Marinette mumbled. Chloe drew breath to react, but Alya reacted faster.

                “The hell you did! That’s it; I’m fed up of this! Marinette, you did nothing wrong! You confessed to him, he rejected your confession, and you moved on! Don’t… don’t make this… about him…” Alya said, gritting her teeth to hold back, as she stepped forwards. Alix moved to stop her, but Marinette shook her head.

                “Alya… it’s more complicated than that…” she said, glaring across at the girl, who took in a deep breath.

                “No. It’s not. He was infatuated with someone he didn’t even know! He’s acting like a child; none of this is your fault!” Alya retorted.

                “I-“ Marinette began.

                “I’m confused… I thought Adrien didn’t have a crush on Marinette, and if he did, why would he reject her?” Mylene said quietly.

                “He had a crush on Ladybug…” Sabrina spoke quietly.

                “Exactly! My Adrikins was almost as crazy about Ladybug as I am, what could possibly break his heart so much, and why was Marinette even involved and **oh my fucking god. No! Hell no! No! I reject this! No!** ” Chloe began screamed, her eyes wide and her finger thrust towards Marinette, who glanced away.

                “He saw Ladybug kissing someone, and saw her transform mid kiss,” Alya said, a faint blush on her cheeks.

                “And who wa… oh. OH! Ohhh…” Mylene said, her own cheeks going bright red.

                “Cesaire! You! You’re…” Chloe said through gritted teeth

                “Dating Ladybug! Suck it Bourgeois! Marinette is Ladybug, and she and I are dating! Number one fan? Nope! Your precious ladybug? Nu-uh! She’s mine!” Alya said, looming in at Chloe.

                “Alya!” Marinette snapped, making the girl twist to look at her. “What the hell? This is a serious matter, and here you are… gloating? This was a mistake, I shouldn’t be here…” Marinette began.

                “You better damn believe I’m gloating, girl! Have you **seen** yourself? Have you ever watched yourself in a video? You, as Ladybug, as Marinette the designer, as Mari the lovesick fool, as Madamoiselle Dupain-Cheng, kind and generous girl, as all facets of yourself, are a beautiful, powerful, graceful, magnificent woman. If you think I’m not going to show you off to the entire world whatever the situation, you’re wrong!” Alya said, as Marinette began to blush.

                “Well, it’s clear you don’t need me. Come on Sabrina,” Chloe snapped, turning towards the door. However, Ivan was stood in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest.

 

                “Your squabble can wait,” he said quietly. It was difficult to tell from just a casual look, but the boy had done a lot of work over the past few years, and had become a powerhouse of muscle with a calm exterior. “The city is full of Akuma. Whatever the reason why, it needs to be cleared up,” he said. Marinette approached him and Chloe, and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

                “Ivan’s right. I… I asked Alya to gather everyone she could together, because I need your help. I need everyone’s help. I can’t do this alone,” she said, nodding to Alix, who dropped the bag she had been carrying onto the long table. “Alya… I’m sorry for not explaining. I needed to show you how serious I was, and this is the best way I can think of,” she said, pulling bundles out of the bag. Each one had a name written on it. She handed one to Chloe, and one to Alya

                “What’s this?” the blonde asked, as Alya began to open her own.

                “I know it’s not designer label, but, I figure, if we’re going to be partners, we should at least share the same anonymity,” Marinette said, as Alya pulled out from her parcel a green mask, and some black clothes, with green patterns sewn into them.

                “Mari… is this…” she began.

                “I had to borrow some materials from a few other places, but the majority of it was from my project. Better to use the scraps than throw them out…” Marinette said.

                “What project? You mean that gorgeous floral ballgown you’ve been working on all this time? Why turn it into such shoddy, hastily made monstrosities?” Chloe snapped.

                “I did it because Adrien and Lila tore the gown up. It was already ruined. They disguised themselves, and pretended to be Alya, and they tried to gross me out, and they tore up my project,” Marinette said, a curious aura of calm about her.

                “Well, as much as it pains me to admit this, but that dress was simply divine, and I cannot forgive such a crime committed against something so beautiful! Fine, I’ll wear your tacky superhero clothes,” Chloe said, as Marinette began to hand them out to everyone else.

                “Mari… you didn’t have to do this,” Alya said quietly. Marinette approached her, and gently rested her head against Alya’s forehead.

                “Yes, I did. It’s my fault, remember,” she whispered. Alya pouted, but relented, leaning in to kiss the girl on the cheek.

                “Thank you for trusting me,” she whispered back, pulling away from the girl to inspect her clothing again, a wide smile on her face.

                “There’s one other thing to know, before we all work on a plan. Tikki, you know more about this than we do, could you please explain?” Marinette said, turning back to the gathered young adults. The tiny creature emerged from Marinette’s purse, and, moments later, everyone save for Juleka and Alya, began talking at once.

 

                “Hmph. Midnight draws ever closer,” Hawkmoth rumbled as he glanced at his pocket watch. Adrien sat nearby, bound tightly to a chair. He was glaring across at the man, with a faint smirk on his face.

                “Annoying, isn’t it? When you make plans and they don’t come through,” Adrien said, as the man caught his eye.

                “Less of your insolence, boy, or I shall do more to you than take back your powers!” he snapped. Volpina stood nearby, a gleeful grin on her face.

                “Ohhh, I hate it when the men in my life fight. At least, I hate it when they’re not fighting over me,” she cooed, twirling her pipe idly.

                “You are certain that Ladybug will have gotten the message,” Hawkmoth snapped, glaring at the woman, who nodded her head with a giggle.

                “Oh, I think she got the message. And if she doesn’t, well, she will soon enough,” she said, glancing over the edge of the building. Suspended from the monument were Tom and Sabine, who had been gagged and were struggling in their binding.

                “She’s not that stupid. She won’t fall for the same trick twice you know! You really are a one trick pony, aren’t you Volpie? Let’s…” Adrien began, only for the woman to glare across at him with a snarl.

                “Ignore him Volpina. He is simply another piece of the plan now,” Hawkmoth snapped, glaring out into the curiously silent darkness of Paris.

                _Hey kid. Whatever you’re doing to regain control, it’s working!_ A familiar voice echoed within his mind.

                _Plagg!?_ Adrien thought.

                _OK, there’s no need to shout! Jeez, I’ve been calling to you since this afternoon, and this is how you say hi. No ‘I missed you’ no ‘it’s great to hear you again’_ the voice went on. Adrien smirked a little, it was good to know that even in peril, Plagg was a little shit.

                _It is good to hear you, but, how am I hearing you?_ he asked.

                _My best guess, the Akuma’s losing influence on you. Your emotions are settling_ came the reply. Adrien nodded his head. He had to admit that seeing Marinette almost no sell the destruction of her work had rattled him. He had expected more of a reaction. Something about his actions filled him with something he might even call regret.

                _Huh… well, that would make sense of a few things… are you OK?_ Adrien thought back at Plagg.

_Not gunna lie kid, I’ve been better. I’m going to need a mountain of cheese to recover from this, I’m so hungry…_ Plagg replied.

                _I bet you simply… camembert to be apart from your snack!_ Adrien let a smirk spread across his face. He could neither truly see nor hear the Kwami, but he had a feeling, right down to his very soul, that the creature would have rolled his eyes at the terrible pun.

                “This is infuriating! Why has she not shown up yet!?” Hawkmoth exclaimed, stamping his foot down as he inspected his watch once again. “Does she not care for the fate of the city?”

                “And I thought I was the one throwing their emotions about,” Adrien muttered to Volpina, who nodded with a chuckle.


	26. The Pearl

                “OK, Nino, sorry, Air Time is in position,” Rose said as she glanced down at her phone. She had insisted on coming along with Juleka and Alix, despite protests from both girls. After getting into their costumes, Alya had gone over their plan.

                “It’s pretty simple really. Akumasquad is going to run a distraction, while we disguise Ladybug, she sneaks up onto the tower with our help, and guns it for Sombre. She uses everything in her power to get his ring, and everything will be sorted, Volpina, the Akuma, everything!” Alya had said, with a lot more confidence than the rest of the group felt. Even Marinette was oddly quiet during the proceedings.

                “Hey, do you think everything is OK between those two, Jules? Mari seems very… tense. Or intense. One of the two,” Alix whispered to Juleka, who shook her head.

                “They’ll get through it. Marinette is just worried. I know how she feels… h-having the person you care about the most in so much danger…” she mumbled, blushing faintly. Rose cuddled up against her softly. The phone buzzed again, and Rose glanced down at it.

                “Little Monster is in position. That’s your cue, Time Bender,” Rose said to Alix, who nodded with a smile.

                “Righto. Look after one another,” she said with a smile, vanishing in an instant. Juleka let out a soft sigh, and glanced up into the night sky.

                “So… I had a dream last night,” Rose began quietly, nestling in beside Juleka. The tall girl arched an eyebrow, looking down at her.

                “Mmm?” She cooed gently.

                “I was sat on a golden throne, in a beautiful gown. I knew that I was waiting for my prince, but I didn’t know why. Prince Ali came in, but, when he approached, he kissed my hand, and I knew, like, I could feel that he wasn’t my prince. Then another person came in. And another, and another. Rich people. Smart people. Handsome people. They all came, and they all kissed my hand, but none of them were my prince,” she said. Juleka grumbled a little, but said nothing.

                “But then, someone else came in. I couldn’t see their face, it was shrouded in a haze of… of something. They approached, but did not take my hand. Instead, they asked. They asked if I would be willing to have my hand held, and my skin touched by their lips. I agreed, and they kissed my hand. It was my prince. I could tell, I just…” Rose continued, tears rolling down her cheeks as she spoke.

                “Rose!?” Juleka squeaked.

                “It was you. You pulled back the shroud and it was you. It’s always been you! You’re my prince!” Rose whispered, hugging in against Juleka tightly. As she did, Juleka thought she could smell the faint hint of mango, her favourite fruit.

                “Rose… did you…” she asked, as the girl tilted her head up. Rose smiled warmly, nodding her head.

                “I accepted her,” she replied, as Juleka pulled her in tighter, planting a kiss upon her cheek.

 

                At precisely two minutes to midnight, pandemonium was unleashed among the city. Simultaneously, half a dozen different Akuma sites began to experience altercations, as the Akuma squad began their plan. The battles quickly escalated, as Akuma illusions clashed against former Akuma power holders, and the news quickly spread back to the villains atop the arc.

                “What are they doing!?” Hawkmoth exclaimed, glaring at the small flying cherub, a statue that had been brought to life by one of the Akuma’s powers.

                “It’s the former Akumas. They’re using powers to fight against the army! They’re dispelling the illusions left and r-” it said, before vanishing in a puff of smoke. Volpina twitched as she felt her illusions begin to vanish.

                “I’ll make them pay for doing this!” Volpina snapped, running towards the edge of the roof.

                “Volpina, stop!” Hawkmoth snapped loudly, but he could not stop her from running off. Cursing under his breath, the male began to pace around, before glaring at Adrien, who was silently smirking in his seat.

                “You… become Chat Sombre again. Protect me!” he exclaimed, summoning a ball of black energy into his hand. “I can give the power to you directly,” he said, pacing forwards. Adrien leaned away from the dark purple glow, tilting on the chair until it toppled over.

                “You know what. I’ve changed my mind about this whole revenge thing. I think I’m on the wrong side of things. Maybe I should try seeing things from another perspective,” Adrien said, from his new position on the ground.

                “You have little choice on the matter, Adrien. Now, take the power!” Hawkmoth snapped, pressing the glow against Adrien’s arm. The boy let out a yell of pain as the blackness of Chat Sombre began to once again spread over his body.

                “AAAHHHHH!!! If you think this will make me want to fight for you, you need to have your methods re-examined!” Adrien exclaimed, as the blackness continued to spread.

                “Funnily enough, my aide told me the same thing recently. She says I am not much of a people person. I beg to differ. I like to think of all of the people of Paris as my kinds of people. Emotional. Unstable. Easily manipulated,” Hawkmoth said, pressing the power in even more.

                “She won’t stop fighting you, you know. Even if you get her Miraculous, she will find another way to fight back. I realise that now. Ladybug isn’t the kind of girl to give up just because you break something of hers. That only makes her fight even more,” he said, giving Hawkmoth one last glare before his head was enveloped in the blackness. Taking a step back, the masked villain inspected his latest creation.

                “Even she will struggle to deal with you. Chapalu Sombre, protect me from Ladybug, and reclaim her Miraculous!” he exclaimed, as the shadowy creature began to emerge. The monster looked like a bulky, more muscular version of a panther, and stood twelve feet tall, with a smoky black body, and a ring hanging on a chain from its neck. It let out a roar, and began to look around the area, hunting for Ladybug.

                “Ayy, Sombrita looks different. I couldn’t find the Bug,” Volpina said, as she landed on the arc.

                “Hmph. You need to be more careful, Volpina. Do not run off again!” he snapped.

                “Wouldn’t dream of it,” the woman replied quietly.

 

                “Ladybug! It is now past midnight!” Hawkmoth’s face exclaimed as its projection hovered above the arc a few minutes later. “Your Miraculous is not in my possession, and my army is taking control of Paris as I speak. This violence can halt, all you have to do is deliver your Miraculous to me. I would consider doing so with some alacrity. Rope frays quite quickly when holding up a three hundred pound baker and his diminutive wife over a one hundred and fifty foot drop,” he continued, his face curling into a smug grin.

                “Hawkmoth!” A voice exclaimed from the streets below. The face in the sky rolled its eyes, and faded. Moments later, Hawkmoth peered over the edge of the monument. “Let them go! They have nothing to do with this. It’s me you want, so here I am!” Ladybug called out. Hawkmoth arched an eyebrow, and turned to Volpina.

                “Did you catch a word of that?” he asked. The girl shook her head. “ **What?** ” he bellowed down at Ladybug.

                “ **I said, let them go!** ” Ladybug shouted back.

                “ **I got that bit. What about the rest?** ”

                “ **I said, it’s me that you want! So here I am!** ”

                “ **What?** ”

                “ **It’s me that you** oh forget this!” Ladybug grumbled, unleashing her yoyo and launching herself up towards the top of the arc. She landed some distance from Hawkmoth and Volpina, eyes flicking around the roof.

                “Ah, Ladybug! Just the person I wanted!” Hawkmoth said with glee.

                “Yeah, I know. That’s what I was saying! Let them go, Hawkmoth!”

                “I would choose your words very carefully, girl! Volpina, would you care to tell her exactly what happens if you ‘let them go’?” the male replied with his smirk returning.

                “Aaaaaaaagghh!!! Help us LadybuSPLAT,” Volpina replied, mimicking something falling and then hitting the ground with her fist and palm. Ladybug rolled her eyes faintly, before fixing them on Hawkmoth.

                “We will bring them back up and ensure their safety, **if** you give me your Miraculous!” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.  

                “Hmm… tempting offer, but… Nah! I like my Miraculous precisely where it is!” Ladybug said, catching glimpse of Volpina’s wink as she prepared to lunge towards the male, whose eyes widened in surprise.

                “What!? Volpina! Drop them!” he roared, stepping backwards as Ladybug began to charge. Volpina moved to hands to the rope, only for it to pass straight through it. She shrugged as his eyes widened in surprise.

                “Sorry Hawky! Volpina can’t be here right now, so I’ll be playing her from now on,” the girl said, as Ladybug drew closer.

                “ **Chapalu!** ” Hawkmoth exclaimed, as Ladybug swung her Yoyo. The toy slapped into something thick and solid, like coiled muscle coated in black powdery paint, before falling ineffectively to the floor. From the shadows of the ground, the colossal feline beast emerged, growling and snarling as it did. It loomed over the heroine, and swatted her away with a bat of its paw, sending her sailing off of the monument, and onto the roof of one of the neighbouring buildings. The heroine struggled onto her feet, as she watched the feline leap from the monument to the ground, seeming to grow in size until it was almost half the height of the arc itself.

                “Well, there goes the easy bit of the plan… it’s all up to you now Alya,” Ladybug whispered to herself as she began to think back to when Alya had detailed her idea.

 

                “I think I get it. We cause a distraction to put them on edge, and set a trap for Volpina, using Bugette, Chloe, to keep her away from the arc. You go in using Juleka’s disguise power, Ladybug fights Chat, you pause him mid fight and taking his item becomes easy peasy! It’s great!” Rose said, as the gathered students discussed their plan. Alya slowly shook her head, holding her phone with a smile beaming out at them.

                “Close, but not quite, we’re gunna go one better. According to eye witnesses, Hawkmoth has turned up in the flesh! The original plan was to take Chat, but why not ‘fix the first’ by taking out the guy who caused everything? I assume Hawky has a Miraculous thingy just like you and Chat. We sneak up and take his! All the Akumas go, everything is sorted, Paris herself is saved by the Miraculous Akumasquad!” Alya said, triumphant!

                “Alya, you’re a genius!” Tikki exclaimed with glee.

                “You’re crazy is what you are,” Chloe said

                “Crazy like a fox,” Alya replied, poking her tongue out at the girl, who rolled her eyes.

                “I don’t like it… it puts you at too much risk,” Marinette said, her face twisted into an expression of concern.

                “For once, I agree with Marinette. You’re definitely too weak to take on Hawkmoth. **I** wouldn’t even want to take him on, and I’m me! **And** I have all the powers of Ladybug!” Chloe said haughtily.

                “Well, you can summon random objects…” Sabrina mumbled in a brief show of defiance.

                “Oh, I’m sorry, did anyone speak just then or was it just the wind,” Chloe replied, pouting as Sabrina gave her the exact same look a puppy gives its owner when it’s been caught pooping somewhere it shouldn’t. However, the two shared a faint smile that went unnoticed by everyone else present.

                “Well, you’ll be there to save me, won’t you, Marinette? Come on! When are you going to get a chance like this again? He’s out! He’s in public! We can take him down once and for all!” Alya exclaimed, taking hold of the girl’s hands.

                “Alya… you’re right. Of course you’re right, and we can’t waste this opportunity, but… please be careful. I don’t know how I would react if I lost you,” Marinette replied, pulling the girl closer, resting her forehead against hers.

                “I love you, girl, and I absolutely, completely, totally and utterly trust you with my life, just like always. Thank you for trusting in me and my plan,” Alya replied, leaning just a little closer to press her lips to Marinette’s own.

                “Awww! So sweet!” Rose squeaked with glee, clapping her hands together rapidly. Juleka nodded her head, touching her temple to the blonde girl’s hair gently.

                “It really is,” Mylene said, taking hold of Ivan’s hand gently.

                “Never thought I’d see it happen, but I’m glad I have!” Nino pipped.

                “Uugh, honestly, so much PDA. Can we bring ourselves back to the present?” Chloe said, rolling her eyes, but a few of those gathered took note of the fact that she had shuffled closer to Sabrina, and had half wrapped her arm around the girl.

                “Oh! That reminds me! I had a present for you, which might even be a secret weapon! Hold out your hand…” Alya said, digging into her pocket. Hesitantly, her hand shaking as she approached Marinette’s palms, she placed the small stone in them, and stepped hurriedly backwards.

                “What is it?” Marinette asked quietly. Tikki took one look, and let out a combination of a squeak and a yell at the same time.

                “ **The Pearl of the Sun!** ” she exclaimed, her tiny digits quivering as she stared at the gemstone.

 

                “Ladybug!” Volpina exclaimed back in the present, taking a step forward as the masked heroine sailed through the air. She failed to notice the rounded head of the cane swinging towards her at some speed. She caught a glancing strike to her cheek, which sent her spiralling backwards and onto her rear. Wincing in pain as her disguise faded, Alya as Miss Connection looked up at Hawkmoth, whose expression was one of barely contained rage.

                “What have you done with Volpina, you imposter?” he snarled, looming over her. Her head fizzled with pain as she focused on the raised stick, and, as he thrust it down towards her, she held out her hand, summoning a pause glyph. The stick struck the glyph, which waivered, before shattering in an explosion of purple light, causing her black and green cape to flutter in the aftermath of the detonation.

                “What?” Miss squeaked gently, her face one of confusion and fear.

                “Did you really think that the pitiful shadow of an Akuma’s power would hold any sway over the Miraculous holder who creates the Akuma? Your powers are nothing but the scrappy remnants of something that I gave you, fool!” he snapped, swinging with his stick again. This time, the girl was able to roll away, but she took another hard impact to her back as she did so. On the streets down below, Ladybug was faring little better against the giant smoky monster.

                “Chat… Adrien… I know that you’re still in there! You can fight him!” she called out, dodging the monster’s attacks as best she could, but the cat was fast, and strong. Repeatedly, she found herself slammed against the ground, or into a building, and on one occasion, through a wall. She was familiar with the dull ache of pain that she occasionally felt when in the suit, but the level of it was nothing she had experienced before. She tried to push herself back onto her knees, but found herself pinned to the ground beneath one of the creature’s colossal feet.

                “Nngh… aagh… I wanted the fight to pause, not to fight paws!” she grunted, despite herself. For just a moment, the creature relented, lifting up enough for the girl to scramble free. The girl looked up into the glowing green eyes, eyes that while the wrong size and more feral, were all too familiar to her.

                “Chat... Adrien... well then,” she said with a faint smirk. The monster loomed over her, and she took a deep breath. “No-one will believe I fought you. It’s too much of a tall tail,” she said, and the monster hesitated. “I’m not feline this fight, can we have it later? I’m pawsitive I won’t win. Help meowt here, Adrien! I’m... I’m sorry that you had to find out that way. I know how much it hurts to have the person you care about not reciprocate your feelings, but believe me… it was nothing purrsonal,” she said, rattling off pun after pun, noting the creature’s reactions were almost akin to chuckled laughter.

                “Mari… nette…” it seemed to growl, looking down at her with pain filled eyes. Eyes which quickly glazed over, and became entirely feral.

                “Well, that was over fast. Lucky Charm!” Ladybug exclaimed, launching her yoyo into the sky. A heavy thud sounded next to her as the object fell to the ground. Ladybug regarded object, a colossal ball of wool almost as tall as she was, and smirked.

                “Here kitty kitty!” she said, grabbing the loose end of the chord, and hefting the ball with all her might. The giant feline began to chase after the slowly unravelling ball, and it was soon tangled up and caught in the strands. Ladybug did not have time to relax, however, as a shriek caused her head to twist towards the monument to see two figures at the top of the Arc, one holding the other out over the edge. As she watched, Hawkmoth loosened his grip upon Alya, and the girl began to fall from the monument.


	27. In which the Fox rises

                “Ladybug!!” Alya screamed, one arm wrapped around Hawkmoth’s, which was clasping at her collar, the other one frantically beating away his other hand, which was trying to rip her mask from her face.

                “Stop squirming! Impudent little brat!” Hawkmoth snarled as he tried to shake the girl. He lunged over to the edge of the roof, holding the girl at arm’s length. “Give up, or drop!” he snapped.

                “Go to hell! We’re never gunna give up fighting you! As long as there’s even a single one of us, you’ll always have resistance!” she snapped back, legs kicking to try and reach him, but the man dangled her lower, meaning all she could kick was concrete.

                “Then I better start thinning the herd,” he stated simply, letting go of her collar. He began pounding and pulling at Alya’s fingers, and, after a few moments, she slipped from his arm.

 

                As Alya began to fall, Ladybug’s eyes flared with pink energy. She began to spin her yoyo upwards, making it circle around her body. The pearl that Alya had given her appeared in her hands, shining with the same pink energy that erupted from her eyes. The girl tossed the gemstone upwards, and the yoyo split apart, enveloping the stone. The magical device shone an intense bright yellow for a moment, before becoming a ball of energy.

                “Miraculous Elytra!” she exclaimed at the top of her voice, and the spinning to seemed to grow and split, slamming against her body at the top of her spine. Long, elegant red and black spotted armour appeared along her body, which split apart to shield her shoulders, revealing a pair of micron thick, gossamer soft grey wings. She darted forwards, taking to the air as the wings began to flitter, sending her across the distance in a fraction of a second. Her arms clasped tightly around the falling girl, and together they drifted back to the ground with ease. Ladybug set the girl to the ground

                “Stay here. I’m ending this now. I love you so much,” she whispered into Alya’s ear, clutching her tightly as both girls gently shook. They remained together for all but a moment, before Ladybug gently peeled herself away from the girl, who gave her hand a squeeze before stepping back. Ladybug turned back to look up at Hawkmoth, hovering upwards as her wings flared into life.

                “You… you have tainted my friends. You have tried to kill my girlfriend. You constantly put the citizens of Paris at risk, and for what? For a pair of earrings that let you make random things, and a ring that lets you melt metal? **Why**? You have the power to make champions, but you use it for evil! What could you possibly have a need for that you are happy to risk tens of thousands of people for!?” she snapped, landing on top of the monument and pacing towards the male, who suddenly wanted to be literally anywhere else.

                “You know nothing of the true powers of the Miraculous. You are just a child; you could never understand the loss I have felt. I-” he began, before an explosion rocked the base of the monument.

                “ **Bug! You tricked me!** ” Volpina snapped loudly, as the girl leaped, a jump far higher than either Ladybug or Chat could perform, before landing in the gap between Hawkmoth and the heroine.

                “Volpina! Excellent timing, I shall leave you to deal with this! ” Hawkmoth said suddenly, as he took in a deep breath, and vanished.

                “Arrgh! Terrible timing, Lila!” Ladybug snapped, wheeling round to face the villainous woman.

                “That’s just how I am. Terrible!” the woman snapped back. Ladybug let out a sigh, and her wings flexed out once again, as a beeping echoed in her ear.

                “I don’t have time for this. I’ll send someone up here to get you,” she said, arcing over backwards in the air, vanishing below the edge of the monument. She sped over to the entangled Chat, and deftly plucked the ring from around his neck. “I really hope this works…” she muttered, brushing her fingers over the metal object. The urge to slip it on began to bubble up inside her, but she pushed it down, and squeezed the ring tightly. A gaseous, tainted purple butterfly emerged from the ring, and settled upon her finger.

                “Hello little butterfly. You’ve certainly caused a nuisance. Don’t worry, we’ll get you cleaned up and free in no time at all,” she cooed softly, running her finger over her Yoyo. She gently rested the bug upon the glowing light, and it sunk into it, reappearing moments later as a regular butterfly, which flittered up into the distance.

                “Miraculous Ladybug!” she exclaimed, touching a piece of the yarn, and tossing it into the sky as best she could. As the beeping in her ear became urgent and incessant, the world began to change, reforming under the power of her mysterious magical artefact. She turned back to Chat, who had transformed back into Adrien. He looked up at her briefly, but could not keep eye contact.

                “You were as much a victim in this as anyone else… but I cannot give you this back,” she said quietly, also unable to look him in the eye. The beeping from her Miraculous was frantic now, and she dashed off before she could say anything else, not willing to risk anyone else finding out about her secret.

 

                The next morning, the city was buzzing. News travelled fast, and images of Hawkmoth, and of the ‘new heroes in town’ were circulating the web. The police were trying to handle the questions, but they were just as baffled as everyone else. It seemed that due to a curious scheduling hiccup with patrols, none of the areas of attack had been manned at that time of the evening, and the CCTV network had been down for emergency maintenance. Even those who witnessed it first-hand were unsure of the exact details, but most of them reported feeling that everything went well, thing were chill, and that everything was OK. All of this, however, passed by Marinette and Alya, who had both returned to Marinette’s, and slept. They slept until midday came and went, and they slept until the following evening, when the girls were asked by Tikki to visit Master Fu.

                “Hello Ladybug, Miss Connection. Please, come in. Would you like some tea?” the elderly man asked, as he greeted them at the door. He was walking with a limp, and he still seemed a little dazed, but it was reassuring to see him on his feet. “My other guest arrived a short while ago,” he said, after both girls refused.

                “Other guest?” Alya asked as they were walked into the room.

                “Hi…” Adrien mumbled sheepishly. Both girls stood dumbfounded for a moment, before freaking out in unison. “It’s OK, it’s fine, really, I’m not… There’s nothing bad going to happen… at least, to you two,” he said, a little glumly.

                “I don’t quite understand,” Marinette said, as Tikki emerged from her bag.

                “Master Fu is the Guardian of the Miraculous, and those that wield them. That means he decides who gets to hold them, and when. It also means he decides when they should be taken back,” she said, as Adrien hung his head.

                “Oh. I, uh… I should probably not be here then, right?” Alya mumbled, her grip on Marinette’s hand loosening as she began to back away.

                “Actually, Miss Cesaire, your presence is also required. Master?” Wayzz said as he emerged.

                “Marinette, could you please give me the Ring of Destruction?” he said. The girl fished into her bag, and pulled out the ring, handing it to the wizened man.

                “Adrien… you must understand that to be a Miraculous holder comes with an exceptional responsibility. You must remain a beacon of positivity. I gave you this ring because I believed that you had the restraint needed to handle Destruction. I may have been quick to judge, however, I have been informed by the Kwami of Destruction that for every minute of your corruption, you were fighting. Your power could have torn the city apart in moments, and yet, it seems all you destroyed were a few doors, half a rooftop, and one expertly crafted dress,” he said, as Adrien shifted nervously. Alya and Marinette had sat down, with Alya sitting between him and Martinette. “With this in mind, I am willing to return the ring to you on two conditions. The first is that Ladybug must approve. Your obsession over her was the root of this trouble, and if you cannot work together with her, then I will need to pick a new holder who will,” he said solemnly. Marinette looked down at her hands in her lap.

                “I don’t know if I can make that decision. I’m… it’s not like I didn’t… and I know that things were difficult because of the storm… but it’s… complicated,” she said quietly, glancing quickly over to Alya, who rubbed her shoulder gently.

                “Mari. Do what you have to. I’ll support you,” she whispered quietly. Marinette nodded, taking in a deep breath.

                “OK. I accept that Adrien did something wrong that he was not entirely in control of. Everyone makes mistakes. If he is willing to acknowledge that I, as both Marinette and Ladybug, am in a relationship with Alya, then, I’m willing to work alongside him as Chat Noir again,” she said, with a faint smile.

                “O-Of course! I, definitely! You two are amazing, you’re great together! Really, this, thank you Marinette, thank you so much!” he exclaimed, lunging forwards to pull both girls into a tight hug. “Thank you,” he whispered repeatedly, as tears began to fall down his cheeks.

 

                A few minutes later, once Adrien had calmed down, Fu gestured for them to return to their seats.

                “Master Fu, before you continue, could I ask you a question?” Marinette asked. The old male nodded his head. “Hawkmoth. He vanished before my eyes, in an instant. How was he able to do that? Was it another illusion?” she asked.

                “Ahh. It is the other power of the miraculous he holds. The Butterfly Effect allows him to be in two places at once. He is able to return to just one in the blink of an eye. It is a powerful ability, and one to be mindful of, going forwards,” he said.

                “Ohh, that’s bull. How are Ladybug and Chat supposed to deal with that?” Alya said with a sigh.

                “It is still not certain whether Chat will be allowed to become active again. If you recall, there was another condition to the return of the Miraculous. I will be appointing an observer, someone to keep things in check between Ladybug and Chat Noir. Traditionally, this role has been given to the Peacock, but alas, I do not know its whereabouts. Fortunately, one of the remaining Kwami has recently awoken, and is eager to meet their new master,” he said, pulling out the fox Miraculous.

                “Isn’t that Volpina’s charm?” Alya said quietly.

                “Indeed, although, the new Miraculous holder is advised to choose a name other than Volpina, since it does not have such positive connotations now as it did in the past. I suggest that you think long and hard, Miss Cesaire, before you settle upon a name,” he said, placing the necklace in front of her. Silence reigned for a few precious seconds.

                “ **What!? What what what what what are you actually, legit saying what I think you are!?** ” Alya exclaimed, leaping up from her seat.

                “That depends on what you are thinking,” the male replied with a smile.

                “I think you’re saying I get to be a superhero!” she exclaimed. The male chuckled, nodding his head firmly.

                “I thought you already were, Miss Connection,” he said with a sly grin.

                “Well, yeah, but I mean, this feels so much more… official!” she exclaimed, picking up the fox Miraculous with both hands. The thing began to glow, and a tiny fox-like blob of a creature emerged, taking in a deep breath.

                “Ahhhhh! That was the **best** nap! Oh! Alya, nice to finally meet you!” it said, grinning a fang-y grin. “I bet you already know my name, don’t you?” it went on, as Alya nodded her head, feeling tears trickle down her cheeks.

                “I do. It’s nice to meet you too, Trixx,” she said, hanging the necklace around her neck.

 

                The evening air from the top of the Eiffel tower soothed Alya’s lung s as she took in a deep breath. She had seen the view before, but never from this angle, and certainly never from these circumstances.

                “She’s beautiful isn’t she? The city, I mean, I, uh, I didn’t mean Ladybug. I mean, she IS, but, that’s, I, I’ll just shup up forever now,” Chat Noir squeaked, slinking down against himself.

                “Calm yourself Agreste, I know what you mean. Paris really is something else… second most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Alya said, glancing up at Ladybug, who was sat right at the top of the tower, her eyes locked on the city, scanning the horizon.

                “I, uh… don’t know if it’s appropriate to say, but… I’m glad it’s you. I’m glad she’s dating someone who I know will absolutely protect her in ways I never could,” he said quietly. Alya nodded her head.

                “Thanks kitty. And hey, if you need someone to rebound onto, might I suggest taking a similar route Mari and I did. I hear that bro friendships to romance are the **best** ,” she said with a little wink.

                “Wh… Nino? Are you seriously kidding, there’s no way someone that cool would go out with me!” he spluttered, blushing brightly.

                “Give it a try. You might be pleasantly surprised,” she replied, turning her head as Ladybug landed beside them.

                “What’re you two talking about?” she asked, smiling broadly at them both.

                “Nothing, just Observer type stuff,” Alya said, poking her tongue out. She brushed her hair back idly, her fingers grazing over the protruding ears that pointed up from it.

                “Well, we’ve got Miraculous type stuff to do. Looks like the Paris Grand hotel’s got an alarm going off,” Ladybug said, reaching forwards to catch a small bunch of strands that the newer hero had missed, cupping her cheek gently.

                “Alright! I’ll go on ahead, see if Bugette has seen anything. Or caused anything,” Chat said, with a nervous cough, before he propelled himself from the tower, spinning his staff above his head like a helicopter blade. Ladybug moved to follow, but was held back by Alya.

                “Hmm? Something wrong Al… Uh, I mean, La Volpe?” Ladybug asked, blushing lightly as she looked into Alya’s eyes.

                “Nothing wrong. Just wanted to get another look at the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” she breathed, leaning forwards into a soft, tender kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has come with me on this journey. This fic started off as a one shot, a way of venting some angsty feels I had way back in December. But it has grown a little, and, thanks to more than a little encouragement from @secretagentspydetectiveninja who is quite frankly an amazing person who has more or less singlehandedly kept me going all the way to finishing this, 27 chapter, almost 63k fanfiction.
> 
> I hope you've enjoyed reading this fic, I know I've certainly enjoyed writing it. Please feel free to leave a comment, or random mashed keys, whatever takes your fancy :D And here's hoping that Season 2 and beyond live up to our expectations! Stay Miraculous!


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